Following the instructions, he arrived at the designated training ground. He had to admit, the academy's grounds were beautiful along the way. It was June, the height of summer, and the shady paths were full of female students' long, pale legs. They wore light clothes, with fair skin, beautiful faces, and outstanding poise. They brimmed with youthful energy.
When Lu Jun entered the examination room and saw only an elderly professor wearing glasses, he was slightly taken aback.
Dean Xiao had come in person.
"You must be Lu Jun," Dean Xiao said warmly. "I've already heard about what happened in Bo City. It's our honor to have you apply to Pearl Academy. You can skip the examination. Welcome to Pearl."
Lu Jun stared at him, utterly astonished. How had he gotten into Pearl Academy in the blink of an eye?
"What is it?" Dean Xiao smiled. "Do you want to go through the process and take the examination anyway?"
Lu Jun hurriedly shook his head. "No, no need. Thank you, Professor."
The other man added kindly, "My surname is Xiao. Just call me Dean Xiao."
He immediately corrected himself. "Hello, Dean Xiao."
"You're welcome. You can come back in September. That's when the new semester begins at Pearl Academy."
The two chatted for a while before Lu Jun finally left. As he walked, he thought about how differently he and Mo Fan from the original story had been treated here. Still, it made sense. By the time Mo Fan had entered Pearl Academy, a year had passed since the Disaster of Bo City, and the attention had long since died down.
He'd also played the sly act of pretending to be weak while hiding his strength, so naturally no one recognized him.
At the same time, Lu Jun breathed a sigh of relief. His Mind Element had tightly sealed his thoughts and emotions, concealing his surprise. The identity of a Forbidden Curse mage was absolutely secret; no one knew about it. If Dean Xiao had noticed something from the fluctuations in his thoughts, Lu Jun would never have been able to clear his name.
Unbeknownst to him, after Lu Jun left, Dean Xiao kept watching his retreating figure, lost in thought. "His Water Element aura is quite strong. He must have obtained a Spirit Seed. There are also several other faint auras. He has quite a few secrets."
In the end, the old professor shook his head. He had no intention of investigating. He treated all his students equally. As long as they didn't commit any serious misdeeds, they were all good kids.
Having finished what he needed to do, Lu Jun headed to Lujiazui on the way. It was one of the city's most prosperous districts, where many major organizations had their headquarters, including the Hunter's Alliance and the Magic Association.
It was home to most of Magic City's powerful mages. Lu Jun had bought his Spirit Seed here last time.
Magic City's Magic Association was established in the city's landmark, the Oriental Pearl Tower. That was why it was also known as the Oriental Magic Association. In terms of influence, it ranked just below the Imperial Capital Magic Association.
From a distance, Lu Jun spotted his sister's graceful, alluring figure beneath the Pearl Tower. A middle-aged man stood beside her, smiling benevolently on the surface as his eyes roamed over her with undisguised greed.
Lu Jun frowned, displeased. He hurried over to Lu Mei, stepped between them, and asked, "Sis, what's going on?"
Before Lu Mei could answer, the middle-aged man chuckled. "Oh, is this Lu Jun? It's been years. Look how much you've grown! Have you awakened your magic? How's your cultivation?"
To his surprise, Lu Jun didn't give him an ounce of face. "That's none of your damn business."
Having been reborn, he had no idea what it meant to be tactful and give in. Being tactful toward others only made himself miserable. If he didn't like someone, he said so. He had to learn to refuse.
The middle-aged man was rendered speechless, then shouted, "How can you be so ill-mannered?"
Lu Jun ignored him and turned to Lu Mei.
His sister endured her disgust and quietly said, "He's from the Lu Family. His name is Lu Dong. He's... your actual uncle, and my uncle in name."
At that, Lu Jun remembered. Their family situation was complicated. Their father and mother had each brought a child into the marriage. Both parents had the surname Lu and had some connection to the Lu Family in Magic City, but it was a distant one.
In the end, the marriage between their parents seemed to have sparked rumors, so they had simply moved to Bo City to get away from it all.
Now that they had returned, these inexplicable relatives had come knocking.
Hearing this, Lu Dong laughed. "That's right, that's right. I even held you when you were little. It's a shame your sister-in-law died so young, and then your father married a widow from the clan..."
His voice trailed off when he saw Lu Mei's face turn icy. He didn't dare continue.
After hearing the whole story, Lu Jun's expression didn't change. He asked Lu Mei, "Then why did he come looking for us?"
Lu Mei didn't answer. Lu Dong put on a fake, earnest expression. "Nothing much. I heard you'd come to Magic City, and thought you could move back in with the clan if you had nowhere to stay. We'd provide you with a place for free."
Then he looked at Lu Mei, finally revealing his true intentions. "It's been over ten years since I last saw you. You've grown into a fine young woman. You were always as pretty as a picture, even as a little girl, and you've become even more beautiful now. How about your uncle introduces you to someone..."
As he spoke, he reached out, trying to touch Lu Mei's shoulder.
Lu Jun couldn't stand it anymore. What was with this behavior, introducing someone and harassing her the moment he showed up, when they barely knew each other? He was nothing but a relative they hadn't spoken to in years, yet he was throwing his weight around and meddling in their affairs, all while harboring bad intentions.
Bzzzz!
His eyes flashed, one white and one black. He struck at once, sending a wave of mental force into Lu Dong's mind.
The Mind Element and Curse Element worked together. First, Mind Impact broke through the barrier around the Mind Lake, then Fearful Haze took effect immediately, multiplying its power several times over. It was practically true damage.
One broke through the target's defenses; the other inflicted the damage.
As soon as Lu Jun's thoughts entered Lu Dong's Spiritual World, he sensed the man's cultivation: an Intermediate Mage. He also uncovered some of his darker thoughts, making his gaze grow even colder.
So what if Lu Dong was an Intermediate Mage? The Mind Element countered all human mages. Combined with the Curse Element's destructive power, these two Primary Magic elements were honestly more useful against mages than his two Intermediate Magic elements, Gold and Water.
Lu Dong couldn't even cast a spell before his soul was struck down.
At that moment, Lu Dong's senses told him his vision had gone dark. Lu Jun was the only one standing in front of him. Suddenly, the youth reached out with two fingers and jabbed toward his eyes.
Panic seized him. He tried to move, only to discover in horror that he couldn't budge. He couldn't even sense his Nebula. It was as if he'd become an ordinary person.
Squish!
"Lu Jun's" fingers flashed like lightning and plunged into Lu Dong's eyes. He dug them in hard, and the sound of flesh bursting rang out.
The next instant, Lu Dong felt a pain so real it was unbearable. His most vulnerable organs had been attacked, and he let out a bloodcurdling scream. Everything was pitch-black. He couldn't see a thing. His hands touched his face, feeling hot, wet liquid.
He was terrified. He could only imagine the two gaping holes in his face, with twin streams of blood running down.
"Aaaah!" Lu Dong went mad with terror. He tried to move his body, only to find himself pinned down as if by a ghost. Only his hands could move. The pain came in relentless waves, leaving him rooted to the spot.
Lu Dong flailed his arms, trying to grab the youth in front of him, but caught only empty air. Lu Jun's cool voice came from all around him. "Keep your eyes to yourself next time."
"Oh, there won't be a next time. If you dare come near me again, I'll make sure you die without anyone knowing."
For some reason, even though he should have been blind, he still saw a pair of scarlet eyes before him, like a demon from the abyss staring him down. His heart seized up, and terror welled up from deep within him.
In the darkness, time seemed to stretch on forever. Lu Dong was tormented for a long time, and the agony dulled his senses.
That voice spoke again. "Remember this lesson. My sister and I have had nothing to do with the Lu Family for a long time. We've never taken a single thing from your family. Don't come looking for us again."
When Lu Dong came to, the world gradually grew clear. The siblings were long gone. The bustle around him suddenly washed over him like a gust of wind. Gasping for breath and drenched in sweat, he collapsed to the ground.
He was back. He'd returned from that terrifying nightmare.
Beneath the Oriental Pearl Tower, people came and went. Busy office workers cast puzzled glances at the middle-aged man slumped on the ground, but paid him no mind.
After a while, Lu Dong finally recovered, though phantom pains still throbbed in his eyes.
The moment he closed his eyes and thought of the siblings, those blood-red, demonic eyes appeared in his mind, haunting him, accompanied by a sharp pain in his heart.
Lu Dong clutched his chest, his face twisted in agony. The people around him thought he was having a heart attack and quickly backed away.
Not wanting to be stared at like a monkey, he staggered to his feet and headed for a dim alley. Finally, he leaned his back against a wall and gasped for air. He had become genuinely terrified of his nephew, Lu Jun.
Suddenly, the phone in Lu Dong's pocket vibrated. He sat motionless for a long time before picking it up and answering.
A low voice came from the other end. "How did it go? Did you get close to her?"
At the mention of Lu Mei, gloom stirred in Lu Dong's mind, threatening to flare up. He immediately shuddered, his face full of fear, and growled, "M-Military Governor Lu Nian, I'm done. She's still my niece, after all. I can't bring myself to do it... You should give up too. It's too terrifying."
"From now on... I won't contact you again."
The man on the phone was stunned. Hearing his clansman ramble incoherently, he rubbed his rugged chin.
He'd been in the middle of screening potential targets when he'd come across information about a female clan member. She had no family ties, yet her cultivation had reached the peak of the Intermediate Level. A rare genius with no connections—she was the perfect target. If she died, no one would ever know.
So he'd sent Lu Dong, who wanted to curry favor with him, to test the waters.
It seemed things weren't so simple. If even an Intermediate Mage had been frightened into a mental breakdown, there was probably a powerful mage backing her.
Meanwhile, Lu Jun was in a somewhat somber mood. He'd only wanted to teach Lu Dong a lesson and show him his claws. He hadn't expected to accidentally pick up on Lu Dong's thoughts and discover that Lu Nian was behind it.
There was no such thing as a baseless test. Thank goodness they'd cut ties with the family early. It would have been trouble if they'd been targeted.
The four great families of Magic City were the Mu Family, the Lu Family, the Bai Family, and the Dongfang Family.
The other three were fine. The Lu Family, though, had plenty of unsavory characters. First, there were the two collateral-branch brothers, Lu Nian and Lu Zhenghe. The latter had no scruples and would stop at nothing to get Mu Ningxue.
The former was just a madman, lost in his own world. He believed his New Element experiment was the righteous path to saving all living beings, and would harm others without hesitation to achieve it. A year and a half later, Mo Fan would fall victim to him.
At this point, Lu Nian had probably only just begun using innocent mages for his experiments. He was already hunting down talented civilian mages everywhere.
On top of that, the Lu Family's Main Branch hid Lu Kun, the Red Demon, a major villain whose influence spanned the entire main storyline. There were also minor villains like councilor Lu Xin and his son, Lu Yilin.
In any case, Lu Jun wanted nothing to do with a family like that.
As for Lu Nian's Demon Element, Lu Jun had to admit that if someone survived the one-in-ten-thousand odds, they gained a way to blow up their own power.
That was how Mo Fan had obtained his third cheat, the all-new Demon Element. It was even more important than his Innate Dual Elements and Azure Dragon Mudfish. He was also the only survivor of the experiments, and that survival was essential for him to become the Evil Saint King in the future.
Innate Dual Elements were a prerequisite for success, and even then, survival was far from guaranteed.
Should I try for the Demon Element or not?
Lu Jun pondered. His choice of the Mind Element had partly been for this reason. He hoped that if the Demon Element was ever implanted in him, he'd be able to keep his murderous nature in check.
A moment later, he dismissed the idea. The Demon Element was basically just a power-up. Once activated, it fused several elements into one. It let an Intermediate Mage fight a Commander-level Demon Beast, a High Mage fight a Monarch-level one, and a Super Rank mage fight an Emperor. At most, it raised one's power by a single major rank—and afterward, the price was severe.
His progress was going smoothly, and unlike Mo Fan, he wasn't the type to pick fights with the heavens and the earth or shoulder the great duty of saving all living beings.
There was no need for Lu Jun to gamble with his life. He could simply keep a low profile and grow stronger.
Besides, the Demon Element only let someone punch one rank above their own. It was so stingy. Who did it think it was? Lu Jun had a plan of his own. If he got his hands on that thing, he'd have the power to flip the whole chessboard.
Still, the future was hard to predict. Lu Jun would just take things one step at a time.
His sister, Lu Mei, quietly walked beside him. She didn't say anything about him attacking Lu Dong. After all, he'd stood up for her. It would be awful of her to pretend otherwise.
Besides, she couldn't stop a little sweetness from welling up inside her.
Chapter 52: Azure Sky Demon Hunting Agency
When they got home, Lu Jun finally spoke to his sister, disdain in his voice. "From now on, you don't need to worry about what I think when it comes to relatives like that. If you don't like them, just act."
"Anyway, I barely know them. I wouldn't care if they died."
He complained, "Magic City really has every kind of demon and monster."
Things hadn't been much better in Bo City, actually. It was just that Lu Mei was an Intermediate Mage, which had deterred a lot of people who wanted to take advantage of her.
His sister smiled and nodded, her heart softening. "Don't be so impulsive. You used magic in public. Luckily, the Mind and Curse Element fluctuations were subtle, and there wasn't a powerful mage around to notice them. Otherwise, you'd have ended up in jail for at least fifteen days."
"Hmph. Someone like that old bastard needed to be dealt with on the spot, so he'd be scared and never show his face again."
Lu Jun scoffed. He didn't tell Lu Mei about Lu Nian and the Demon Element, but warned her, "Be careful from now on. I don't think Lu Dong was up to anything simple."
"I know. I'm not stupid."
"Oh, right." Then Lu Jun asked, "Have you bought a Spirit Seed yet?"
"Of course!" Lu Mei took a magic-energy box from her coat. When she opened it, an apricot-yellow glow spilled out, and a heavy, earthy aura filled the entire Jinyuan Apartment, making it dusty.
She looked quite pleased. "This Spirit Seed is called Mountain. It has a 2.5-times boost and a special gravity effect. My Ground Wave and Rock Barrier will be much harder for Demon Beasts to break through."
"This Spirit Seed cost 22 million. That's still acceptable."
"Oh? Not bad," Lu Jun said in surprise. "But aren't you buying a Wind Element Spirit Seed?"
Lu Mei said helplessly, "I found one I liked. It came from a Demonic Wind born in the Qinling Mountains, but the seller didn't want cash. He wanted to trade it for a high-quality Spirit Seed, and we're short on money too."
That was true. Although the siblings had forty million, they'd rented an apartment, rented a Nebula Magic Tool, and bought a Spirit Seed. They had only fifteen million left, and still had to cover their daily expenses.
"But it's fine."
His sister's lips curved upward. "I found a way to make money. I'm going to work as a 'city inspector' in Magic City. In other words, I'll be going back to my old job with the City Demon Hunting Squad."
"Don't underestimate the job. I asked around. Magic City is different from Bo City. The metropolitan area is enormous and has accumulated countless strange creatures. General-level Demon Beasts show up all the time, so bounties often start at a million."
"That's why Magic City's City Demon Hunting Squad is so powerful. It's among the best in the country. The entry requirements are high: you need at least an advanced hunter's certificate. Anyone who can get one is basically an Intermediate Mage."
Lu Jun pondered. When Mo Fan had first arrived in Magic City, he'd called and complained to Lu Jun about how outrageous the City Demon Hunting Squad was.
But they were different. They'd spent two and a half years hunting Demon Beasts in high school. Getting an advanced certificate would be easy, so joining Magic City's city inspectors wouldn't be a problem.
The Hunter's system was a massive force, no weaker than the Magic Association. Above that was the Demon Hunter Master rank, which was widely renowned in society. You needed at least High Mage cultivation to earn it.
Masters were divided into seven stars. Those with a high number of stars were usually Super Rank mages. Above them were the supreme Hunter Kings. The selection criteria were strict, and across all of China, only one was chosen every ten years.
Of course, cultivation was only one factor. A Demon Hunter's overall ability mattered too.
Before you continue