"The duel begins!"
With Deng Kai's command, the highly anticipated Magic Duel officially began.
"Fire Seed—Scorch!"
Mo Fan did not reveal all his strength from the start. Instead, he first used a Level One Fire Seed to probe his opponent.
Fire Element Star Seeds rapidly formed beneath his control, connecting into a complete Star Path.
A ball of flame rose from Mo Fan's hand like a dancing sprite. With a casual flick, he hurled it straight at Yu Ang.
"Heh, mere tricks."
Yu Ang sneered. The Star Path in his hand linked together instantly, his speed no slower than Mo Fan's.
"Ice Vine—Freeze!"
As he chanted, the temperature across the entire duel arena plummeted, transforming midsummer into bitter winter.
Amid the intertwining frost, Ice Gauze, and ice foam, the incoming Fire Seed slowed. Yu Ang seized the moment and dodged.
Then, white freezing mist swept toward Mo Fan.
However, under the heat of Mo Fan's Fire Seed, the white freezing mist quickly dissipated.
Their first exchange ended evenly, with neither gaining the upper hand.
Soon, the next round began.
In the spectator stands.
Qin Yuan was not particularly concerned about the duel. His main reason for coming was to see Mu Ning Xue; his secondary reason was to settle a few matters.
"Of the four areas, I've only confirmed the locations of three underground holes. I still don't know whether there are any in the other area."
Qin Yuan's eyes flickered as he thought to himself.
Over the past few months, he had searched every area Xu Dahuang had given him.
Aside from the known underground hole in the Inscription Area, he had only found the ones in Guangshang Tianjie and Lufeng Town.
One was inside a sewer pipe, while the other was at a garbage disposal site.
Qin Yuan did not notify the City Construction Team. Instead, he simply patched them up and made them look as though they had been caused by demons, ensuring that the Black Vatican would only be suspicious.
As for the last Beiling Area, its range was simply too vast and its population too dense. Qin Yuan could not exactly launch a massive search there.
"Looks like I'll have to borrow some of Zhan Kong's 'authority.'" After pondering for a moment, Qin Yuan made his decision.
Since he could not find it, he would evacuate that area in advance. Any excuse would do.
Besides, it was only one area. Even if the Black Vatican found out, they would most likely consider it a coincidence.
"What are you thinking about?"
Mu Ning Xue asked.
She had not been paying much attention to the Magic Duel. Her attention had been on Qin Yuan instead.
"Nothing much. I was just looking forward to seeing what Pearl Academy is like."
Qin Yuan smiled slightly, then changed the subject. "Imperial Capital Academy's summer break should be ending soon, right? When are you leaving?"
"My flight is the day after tomorrow."
Mu Ning Xue replied.
"The day after tomorrow... I'll see you off then." Qin Yuan nodded with a smile.
It was also a good thing for Mu Ning Xue to leave Bocheng early. Otherwise, who knew whether some accident might happen when disaster struck.
"Mm."
Mu Ning Xue softly agreed without refusing.
The two spoke quietly, not disturbing the people around them as they watched the Magic Duel.
"Whoa!"
Suddenly, waves of shocked cries and uproar erupted from the arena.
It turned out that, relying on his seasoned experience, Mo Fan had successfully struck Yu Ang with a Level Three Fire Seed.
By all rights, Mo Fan should have won by then. Unfortunately, Yu Ang wore an Ice Silkworm Armor gifted by Mu Zhuoyun. It was an Armor Magic Tool specifically designed to counter the Fire Element. With it, Beginner Magic of the Fire Element could hardly harm Yu Ang.
"This Mo Fan has quite good talent."
"As for Yu Ang, after all the resources I spent cultivating him, he now has to rely on the Ice Silkworm Armor just to win."
Mu Zhuoyun's tone carried both appreciation for Mo Fan and disappointment in Yu Ang.
He could see through it, and naturally, others could as well.
In terms of magical talent, Yu Ang was inferior to Mo Fan.
But Yu Ang had found himself a good father. With a full set of luxurious magic equipment, he had forcibly placed himself on the same level as Mo Fan.
"Mo Fan, stop fighting." Deng Kai spoke up at the right moment and said regretfully, "He's wearing Ice Silkworm Armor. Your Fire Element Beginner Magic is useless against him."
His words fell.
In the duel arena, Mo Fan's expression became slightly conflicted. He was thinking, weighing whether he should reveal all his trump cards.
And then, at that very moment.
"Hahaha." Yu Ang's somewhat charred face broke into unrestrained laughter as he mocked, "You were so close to stepping on me to rise up, but... just a little. You were only short by that little bit."
"So what if you have talent? Without a background, you're still an insignificant ant. You commoners don't deserve this kind of magical talent."
"Mo Fan, admit defeat!"
Yu Ang's voice contained traces of jealousy. He envied Mo Fan's magical talent.
"Damn it, if I don't beat you flat today, I'll write Mo Fan backward!"
With Mo Fan's fiery temper, how could he endure Yu Ang's barking? He immediately decided to teach him a lesson.
What he despised most were rich young masters like Yu Ang, spoiled by their wealth.
It would have been one thing if he had genuine ability, but he did not, yet he still acted so high and mighty. He was begging for a beating.
"Still talking tough? Your magical talent is worthless before my background!"
Yu Ang mocked.
"A background counts as strength too?" Mo Fan could not help laughing.
The next second, his smile vanished, replaced by unrestrained arrogance.
"Then my extraordinary talent counts as strength too!"
The Fire Element was not enough?
But who said he only had the Fire Element?
Purple arcs of electricity instantly appeared in Mo Fan's eyes. Fine strands of escaping lightning twisted like thunder serpents, crackling sharply.
The foremost of all elements: lightning.
If fire meant aggression and burning,
Then lightning meant destruction and devastation.
Before the eyes of everyone present except Qin Yuan.
The Lightning Element Star Path in Mo Fan's hand linked together instantly as he chanted Beginner Magic, "Thunder Seal—Fury Strike!"
The Thunder Seal was like Mo Fan's current mood: violent, arrogant, and explosive.
"Crackle!"
A thick bolt of lightning descended from the sky and blasted viciously toward Yu Ang.
Yu Ang instinctively wanted to cast Ice Vine for defense, but lightning was more than twice as fast as fire.
"Sizzle!"
The Level Three Lightning Seal struck Yu Ang instantly.
"Ahhh..."
Yu Ang screamed in agony. If not for the magic equipment on him blocking most of the damage, he would already have become a charred corpse.
Why!
Why was this happening!
Could it be... Mo Fan was an Intermediate Level mage?
With that final thought, Yu Ang collapsed onto the duel arena and completely lost consciousness.
Without emergency treatment, he might very well die from this.
This scene stunned everyone. The atmosphere across the entire venue became terrifyingly silent, broken only by increasingly rapid breathing.
"..."
After a moment of silence.
Boom!
Deafening noise erupted throughout the entire venue.
"Damn, Mo Fan is an Intermediate Level mage?"
"What's going on? He reached Intermediate Level mage in just three years?"
"Wuwuwu, after three years, I'm still stuck at Elementary Level Two."
Everyone wore expressions of utter disbelief, the shock in their eyes refusing to fade.
"He's Intermediate Level in three years too, just like Qin Yuan?" Deng Kai said, his voice trembling slightly.
One genius was already outrageous enough. Now there was another one. Was Bocheng about to be blessed by heaven this year?
Before you continue