A Slap in the Face

Mu Zhuoyun called Lin Lan and Mo Fan over. Once they approached, he pulled a fire-element bracelet from his robes.

"You both performed very well and truly opened my eyes. Our Mu Family has a batch of fire-element resources, as well as some lightning-element resources. I can give these to you."

"They'll make your cultivation path smoother. From now on, you'll be members of the Mu Family, so work hard." Mu Zhuoyun spoke smugly, as though he were bestowing an enormous favor upon them.

"Big Brother, what about Mu Bai? Mu Bai performed very well too!" Mu He still tried to put in a word for Mu Bai, but Mu Zhuoyun had no interest in paying attention.

"Oh? Then tell him to work hard!" Mu Bai's mouth twitched at Mu Zhuoyun's words, and his expression immediately darkened.

"Lin Lan, Mo Fan, hurry and thank Honorary Principal Mu Zhuoyun. With his guidance, you two will surely rise rapidly in the future," Xue Sheng promptly chimed in.

"Hahaha!" Mu Zhuoyun laughed as well, feeling that neither of them could possibly refuse his offer. Mo Fan had taken first place, and Lin Lan's lightning element was also worth nurturing.

"Mu Zhuoyun, you old bastard, is there something wrong with your brain?" When Xue Sheng heard Mo Fan say that, his face turned as bitter as a dried gourd. He was utterly stunned.

"What did you say?" Mu Zhuoyun's face turned livid, anger lacing his voice as he gave Mo Fan a chance to reconsider his words.

"I said, is there something wrong with your brain? Do you think I'm some dog raised by your Mu Family?"

"Coming when summoned and leaving when dismissed. I haven't forgotten how you treated me and my dad back then."

"I never said I wanted your family's things, or that I wanted to be your dog and run errands for you. Do you think I'm Mu Bai?" Mo Fan's eyes churned with fury. He showed no fear toward Mu Zhuoyun, and his tone was full of contempt.

"You... you!" Mu Zhuoyun was clearly infuriated by Mo Fan. Waves of cold air continuously radiated from his body.

"Mu Zhuoyun, I'm telling you, even if you wrapped up Mu Ningxue along with her dowry and delivered her right in front of me, Mo Fan, I still wouldn't join your Mu Family." Mo Fan continued to fire back, utterly unconcerned with Mu Zhuoyun's furious expression.

"Hmph!" Mu Ningxue snorted coldly when she heard that.

The cold aura around Mu Zhuoyun intensified, as though he were on the verge of making a move.

"Zhuoyun, don't get angry. This is a school—control yourself."

"Mo Fan, you've gone too far. You don't know how to respect your elders and superiors. Hurry and apologize to Mu Zhuoyun." Principal Zhu naturally did not want things to escalate, and he was also giving Mo Fan a way out.

"So, disrespecting and insulting someone means you should apologize?"

"Three years ago, this old bastard brought a group of people to my home, smashing things and rummaging through everything. They even injured my dad."

"My dad still has lumbar spine problems now, yet I haven't seen this guy apologize to him." Mo Fan was full of fiery defiance. His tone was dissatisfied, and he gave Mu Zhuoyun no face at all.

"What are you and your father? Are you worthy of making me, Mu Zhuoyun, apologize?" Mu Zhuoyun was beside himself with rage, his voice thunderous and disdainful.

"Tch, what are you? Other than using your nearly coffin-ready age and your status as a major family to suppress me, what other skills do you have?"

"If you were my age, I'd have beaten you until you were crawling around looking for your teeth." The more Mo Fan spoke, the more agitated and fired up he became.

"You think taking first place in the school makes you so impressive?"

"You think you can become some powerful mage?" Mu Zhuoyun scoffed.

"Big Brother, this brat is deliberately provoking you, making it so you won't dare bully someone younger than you in front of so many people. There's no need to waste words with him. He insulted the Honorary Principal—just expel him." Mu He stepped forward and spoke, clearly wanting Mo Fan expelled. It had to be said, Mu He truly was Mo Fan's benefactor.

"How did a few words turn into talk of expulsion? Without my permission, no one is allowed to expel my student!" Principal Zhu glanced at Mo Fan, his tone firm. Mo Fan was first in the entire school, a talent worth nurturing, so he naturally had to protect him.

"Hmph! Since he insists on clinging to this matter, I'll fight in Master Mu's place. I'll beat him until he's completely convinced, then make him kneel before Master Mu and kowtow in apology!" Mu Bai snorted and stepped forward, wanting to show himself off while also teaching Mo Fan a lesson.

"Yu Ang is my adopted son, and he's the same age as you. He'll fight in my place."

"Now you can't say I'm bullying someone younger than me, can you?" Mu Zhuoyun said gravely.

"Mo Fan, you should just admit your mistake to Mu Zhuoyun," Principal Zhu reminded him.

"A duel? That suits me perfectly."

"If I lose, I'll kowtow and apologize to him. If he loses, he'll kowtow and apologize to my dad." Mo Fan's eyes burned with fighting spirit, for himself and for his father.

"The Magic Association has regulations. Mages under eighteen aren't allowed to duel."

"If you want to fight, it'll have to be two years from now." Tang Yue spoke up at that moment.

"Fine! Two years from now."

"By then, you'll pay for what you've done."

Mu Zhuoyun was not flustered in the slightest, his eyes filled with disdain. He then turned his gaze toward the thoughtful Lin Lan.

So this is the three-year agreement. Mo Fan really is bold, though it's understandable for someone young and hot-blooded. Lin Lan thought Mo Fan was truly fierce and even admired him somewhat. Still, Lin Lan needed to develop steadily. He understood the principle that the tallest tree in the forest was the first to be destroyed by the wind.

"And you? Lin Lan, I know about your circumstances. Joining a major family would be very beneficial for you." Mu Zhuoyun questioned Lin Lan.

"Me... forget it. I'm used to being free. Thank you for your kind offer, Chairman Mu." Lin Lan shook his head and refused. Joining the Mu Family carried the risk of exposing himself, and who knew how many members of the Black Vatican were still lurking within the Mu Family? It was better to level up on his own.

"Very well. Still, you're much more polite than that brat Mo Fan."

"Let's go back." Seeing Lin Lan refuse, Mu Zhuoyun said nothing further. However, he clearly had no mood to keep watching, so he called the others and prepared to leave.

"Lanzi, wasn't I especially awesome just now?"

"I'm treating you to barbecue tonight!" The moment Mo Fan saw Mu Zhuoyun leave, he immediately changed expressions and grinned.

"Sure, first place in the school. But I think you were still a little lacking." Lin Lan felt that Mo Fan had not completely shown off, only because Lin Lan himself had not revealed all his strength.

"You mean I didn't curse that old dog Mu Zhuoyun into an idiot hard enough? I know."

"I'm telling you, I can already see Yu Ang getting zapped into a punk by me, and Mu Zhuoyun kowtowing to apologize to my dad." Mo Fan started fantasizing again, though he really would have that strength in the future.

"Let's go, let's go. Once we finish awakening, we'll call Monkey and hit the barbecue stall tonight. Hehehehe."

Originally, I hadn't planned to write this original plot segment in detail, but I decided to flesh it out somewhat out of respect for the source material. Since the protagonist had no use for Bocheng's Earth Sacred Spring and would have already broken through to the intermediate level by then, I'll give it to Mo Fan.