Zzzzt~. With a primary-level-one Lightning Magic spell, he clenched a ball of purple lightning in his hand and whipped out a long, python-like lightning lash, striking the wooden dummy in the distance.
A thunderous boom rang out, leaving behind a patch of charred black and a battered target.
Lu Jun's expression turned grave. He suddenly realized that his Gold Water Magic was badly countered by the Lightning Bloodline.
Even the slightest contact would conduct electricity, instantly paralyzing and immobilizing him.
In the end, Lu Jun relaxed his muscles. No Magic System was invincible; most countered one another. Rock countered lightning, ice and water countered fire, and so on. Once he awakened more Magic Systems at the Intermediate Level, he could naturally make up for it.
Besides, Lightning Mages were genuinely rare. He didn't need to worry.
The True Face of the Great Clans
On the testing field, Xu Zhaoting stood brimming with confidence, basking in the attention of the crowd.
Mu He, a school board member seated on the stage, regarded him approvingly, then asked Mu Ningxue, "Ning Xue, what do you think?"
"Ordinary." Mu Ningxue didn't spare him another glance. Her bright eyes were fixed solely on Mo Fan among the crowd.
This gave all the boys in Class 8, First Year the delusion that she was looking at them.
That included Xu Zhaoting on the field and Mu Bai, who were both secretly pleased with themselves.
The leaders' expressions soured. Mu Zhuoyun stepped in to smooth things over with a laugh.
"Haha, he's actually done quite well. Ning Xue studies at Imperial Capital Academy, where the nation's magical prodigies gather. Releasing a primary-level Thunder Seal is just a basic skill for them. She only thinks it's ordinary because she's used to judging things by Imperial Capital Academy's standards."
Right on cue, Mu He changed the subject, deliberately bringing up Mu Bai and leading the leaders over to Class 8, First Year.
Mu Bai was delighted and immediately stepped forward to take the test.
Seeing this, Lu Jun curled his lip. This Annual Assessment was a showcase for noble-family disciples. Who could have expected Mo Fan to appear?
Next, Mu Bai earned an S-rank score. The Star Compass shone brightly around him, and he effortlessly released the primary-level Ice Magic spell, [Ice Vine]. A faint chill spread as a large patch of ice formed across the ground, freezing the wooden dummy into an ice sculpture with a series of creaks.
It sparkled translucently in the sunlight.
The leaders were all shrewd people. They knew Mu He was deliberately giving Mu Bai a leg up, so they joined in with their praise.
Mu Bai was pleased with himself. He secretly glanced at Mu Ningxue to gauge her reaction, only to burn with anger when he saw that she hadn't looked at him at all. She was still staring at Mo Fan.
That bastard again. He swore to himself that he'd make Mo Fan look bad in a moment, then signaled to the Exam Proctor beside him.
The bald proctor leaned casually against the Star Compass as if nothing were amiss and slipped a Dark Light Stone inside.
Lu Jun and Mo Fan had been on their guard and watching all along. They saw through the truth at once. Mo Fan's eyes sharpened, and he stepped forward, shouting, "What are you doing?!"
Mo Fan strode straight to the Star Compass and grabbed the bald proctor's hand, catching him red-handed.
The leaders were startled and hurriedly looked over. The proctor froze, the Dark Light Stone still in his hand, at a loss for what to do. With everyone watching, all the teachers and students immediately understood what had happened.
A huge wave of commotion swept through the crowd. People exclaimed, "Wow, someone's openly cheating! Doesn't that mean all the results so far are invalid?"
"That's disgusting. What if it happens to me when it's my turn?"
Tang Yue stepped forward and snatched the stone away. After examining it for a moment, she frowned and asked coldly, "What were you trying to do? How dare you place a Dark Light Stone here to harm a student? Who told you to do it?"
The leaders frowned. They had all weathered bloodshed and turmoil, and immediately guessed that someone was trying to harm a student.
Mu He's expression turned ugly. He glanced at Mu Bai, who stood among the crowd with cold hands and sweat pouring down his face, and glared viciously at him.
At that moment, Lu Jun was even quicker. He glanced at the assessment sheet and called out, "Mo Fan is next. Tell us, were you trying to harm him?!"
At his words, the two Mu Brothers on the school board exchanged troubled looks. They both thought of what had happened back then: Mu Bai had been first, and Mo Fan was next. It was as if the culprit's identity had been laid bare.
Mu He's face grew even more ashen. Even clever Mu Ningxue understood what had happened, and she looked at Mu Bai with icy eyes.
She had feelings for Mo Fan that she couldn't quite explain. She had even planned to help him when she returned, and if his grades were decent, she'd have the family support his development.
But then this happened. She couldn't bear to imagine what Mo Fan's future would have been if nobody had noticed. For someone from an ordinary background, it would have been a lifelong humiliation.
Mu Ningxue made up her mind and was about to step forward when her father, Mu Zhuoyun, stopped her. His quiet, icy words rang out beside them. "We'll discuss this when we get back."
"Father!"
The silver-haired girl called out, displeased and anxious.
"I said we'll discuss it when we get back!" Mu Zhuoyun, who had always doted on his daughter, was unusually firm. He said indifferently, "Our Mu Clan will handle its own affairs. Family scandals must stay within the family. These commoners have no right to criticize us."
Mu Ningxue hesitated, while Mu He clearly breathed a sigh of relief. To keep her from speaking again, he hurriedly stepped forward first. "We must investigate who did this."
He fixed the bald proctor with a vicious, murderous stare and shouted, "Speak! What were you trying to do?!"
At the same time, Mu Zhuoyun watched the proctor with an equally cold expression.
The pressure from the two Mu Brothers came crashing down on the bald proctor. Despair washed over his face. He knew that if he insisted he had acted on his own, he might still have a way out—even live comfortably for the rest of his life. But if he named the person who had ordered him to do it, he'd die without a burial place and drag his family and wife down with him.
So the bald proctor stammered out a ridiculous excuse: he had acted on his own because he looked down on Mo Fan for using connections to get ahead, and had done it deliberately.
Mo Fan grew anxious. He shouted several times, glaring at him. "Do you dare to say that again and mean it?"
Tang Yue saw through the ruse. Faced with such a dark side of society, her sense of justice as an adjudicator left her deeply unhappy. But when she thought of her mission and the Black Vatican, she knew she had to keep her identity hidden. There was nothing she could do to get justice.
Besides, she knew that nothing would come of this. The man was taking the blame and would stick to his story. And since it wasn't a major incident, the victim hadn't suffered any serious harm.
The Mu Clan was a local power, and even the Adjudication Court would have a hard time convicting them.
It was frustrating. The logic that an offense wasn't serious as long as the victim was unharmed was absurd, but reality was this cruel.
Lu Jun sighed. This was about as much as he could do. With his sister being an Intermediate Mage, no one would be foolish enough to retaliate against him. But getting any further was incredibly difficult.
Besides, he knew Mu He's true power: a High-Order Mage with the Curse Element, a form of Black Magic. He'd stood out far too much. He was just waiting to die without anyone knowing how it happened.
Mo Fan's face was full of fury. In his helpless rage, he repeatedly pointed at Mu He and Mu Zhuoyun, hurling insults at them. The two brothers had been in the wrong, and could have let a student curse at them. But before long, Mo Fan was insulting their ancestors going back eighteen generations.
They couldn't take it anymore. A leader beside them read the room and immediately pointed at Mo Fan. "Enough, Mo Fan. Everyone knows you've been wronged. The school will compensate you. This wasn't the fault of the two board members, so why are you going crazy and accusing people at random?"
"The culprit is right there. You should be blaming him!"
By now, Mu Bai had managed to calm down. He glanced at Zhao Kunsan beside him, and his lackey immediately understood. He jumped out and said, "Exactly! Mo Fan, stop disrupting everyone's tests. It's obvious he was targeting only you. You should reflect on your own words and actions."
Once he started, everyone hoping to become a dog for the Mu Clan rushed to point fingers. "That's right! Hurry up and apologize."
Unbelievable! Lu Jun looked at the teachers and students around him, finding them utterly ridiculous. It was the same in Bo City as in Magic City.
Even Mu Ningxue hesitated. The Mu Clan provided everything she needed, so she couldn't defy her father and uncle.
Tang Yue closed her eyes, then opened them and spoke up a few times in Mo Fan's defense. But it didn't help much; she only managed to calm the teachers and students.
The two Mu brothers, Mu He and Mu Zhuoyun, sneered without saying a word. Their underlings had already taken care of everything. That was the power of a noble family!
Seeing this, Mo Fan was furious. In the end, things still followed the path of the original story. The circumstances were different, but the outcome was much the same: he openly challenged a noble family.
Mu Zhuoyun had long since lost patience. He sent his adopted son, Yu Ang—who was actually a Black Vatican Member under Mu He—to face Mo Fan and make a Two-Year Pact with him.
They would settle the matter at the coming-of-age ceremony after graduating from high school. The loser would kneel before the winner and kowtow, then publicly apologize.
Leaving the City, Zhan Kong
Lu Jun found it all deeply familiar: another school test, another Two-Year Pact. It really was a Battle Through the Heavens retread.
And just a few days after Mo Fan and Yu Ang fought at their coming-of-age ceremony two years later, the Disaster of Bo City would erupt. It was a landmark event. All he had to do was get the timing right.
He sighed. His desire to grow stronger grew more urgent. In a noble-family-dominated magical society like this, he had to be powerful to decide who lived or died and act according to his own wishes.
If Mo Fan had been a High-Order Mage, he could have killed Mu He on the spot, and nobody would have dared say a word.
The Magic Association allowed mages to fight one another in private, as long as they agreed on the time and place to settle their personal grudges.
The Annual Assessment continued. After watching the spectacle, Lu Jun no longer felt like staying. Carefully controlling his mana output, he earned an S-rank score, then released the primary-level-one Water Element spell, Water Guard - Dissipate.
By keeping his abilities hidden, he easily became a member of the Advanced Class.
Mo Fan, meanwhile, wore a cold, sour expression, but still earned an S-rank score and perfectly released Fire Magnetism, stunning the entire crowd. Even Principal Zhu couldn't bear to see such a promising student destroyed by a noble family, and tried to mediate.
The teachers and students once again displayed their servile side, rushing to persuade him, utterly baffled by his reaction.
But Mo Fan's temper needed no explanation. He was arrogant and indignant, and nothing could be said to him. Even Mu Ningxue's quiet attempts to persuade him were useless.
Once Lu Jun had finished, his first year of high school was over. He headed home to prepare to hunt Demon Beasts outside the city with his sister.
"Hey, are you even a friend?" Mo Fan complained. "After what happened to me, you're not even going to comfort me?"
"Come on, I have ten thousand percent confidence in you. Once you bring out both your Magic Systems, who could possibly stand against you?"
Lu Jun teased him, then waved a hand. "See you after summer break."
Tang Yue quietly watched Lu Jun leave, lost in thought. She could tell he had hidden his abilities during the assessment, and curiosity stirred in her. She decided to investigate his background.
Lu Jun had noticed these things, but couldn't be bothered to care. His background was spotless, and having an Intermediate Mage for a sister made his own cultivation level perfectly plausible.
It wasn't a good time to get involved yet.
He returned home. As soon as he stepped inside, Lu Jun shouted, "Sis, I'm back. Let's go hunt Demon Beasts!"
Summer had arrived. Lu Mei was dressed lightly and sprawled on the sofa watching television. Her pose outlined her perfect figure, her full hips raised, and her long, straight, shapely legs swayed behind her. The dazzling white of her feet drew the eye, as did the bright polish on her toenails.
She glanced sideways at him. "You can't rush these things. I've been ready for ages. You think I'd wait until you got back?"
Hunting Demon Beasts outside the Safe Zone depended on knowing the terrain and the distribution of Demon Beasts. One wrong turn could bring a Warrior or Commander charging at them and leave them dead without a burial place.
Fortunately, countless hunters and soldiers from Bo City had ventured into the wilderness and South Ridge over the years, mapping out the Demon Beasts' outposts around the city.
Lu Mei had wanted to hunt Demon Beasts and gather resources for cultivation for a long time. She had been preparing for this, asking around and collecting maps. Now that her younger brother had grown up, he could finally be put to use.
They had also packed tents, knives, flint, and everything else they needed for the wilderness.
Lu Jun didn't have much experience; he was just muscle. His sister handled everything. Frowning, he asked, "Are these maps reliable?"
She answered crossly, "Of course they're not as reliable as the secret paths the old hunting groups mapped out with their lives. But they're at least the latest versions available publicly. And besides, I'm a local."
"Let's go." Lu Mei rose and stretched lazily, her curvy figure unfurling. She tied her hair into a neat, practical ponytail and walked to the corner to gather a pile of miscellaneous gear.
Of course, they didn't need much. Mages were convenient in most situations. For example, Lu Jun could create pure water with a single spell, so they only needed to bring one or two bottles as a precaution.
As for carrying the load, they could rely on Wind Element and Earth Element mages, who could carry whatever they wanted, as long as they left room for what they found.
Lu Jun remembered that Space Storage Magic Tools were rare in the Magic World. Usually, Space Element Mages served a similar function through their [Space Element] magic, but Space Element Mages were so rare that they generally didn't appear until the High Order.
The two siblings were going on their first Demon Beast hunt in the wilderness, and didn't plan to go far. They would just leave early and return before nightfall.
They took a Hunter's Alliance bus toward the border. Outside the window, the scenery shifted from towering buildings to suburban towns, then became nothing but wild forests and mountains.
Far ahead, two towering mountains came into view, their peaks covered in snow. A tall city wall stood between them, with military camps and outposts stretching along it.
"Snow Peak Mountain Outpost. It's where the Bo City Military Mages are stationed, and the only route out of the city. They hold back the invading wolf packs and keep Bo City safe."
Lu Mei quietly explained it to her younger brother.
The bus stopped there. The hunters climbed down in silence, their expressions grim. Every hunt was a gamble with their lives, so naturally, no one was laughing and joking around.
As Lu Jun and his sister passed the Snow Mountain Outpost, they saw squads of soldiers and mages patrolling along the road. They checked everyone's documents before letting them through.
"Hey, you two! One's a half-grown boy, and the other's a young woman who's barely entered society. You're going out of the city with just the two of you? Do you not care about your lives?"
A handsome young officer with a face full of stubble and a military coat strode over from the distance, speaking in an unfriendly tone.
All the soldiers and hunters along the way stopped what they were doing and saluted respectfully. "Hello, Military Governor!" "Boss Zhan Kong!"
He looked the two of them over, then turned to Lu Mei in surprise. "Oh? You're an Intermediate Mage."
Lu Mei frowned. "Who are you, and why are you stopping me from leaving the city?"
"Me?" The handsome, stubbled officer pointed at the ground and said authoritatively, "I'm Zhan Kong, the boss around here, the Military Governor of Bo City."
His sister didn't react much, but Lu Jun was shaken. Zhan Kong was another familiar name, a major character in the original story. He had always protected Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou as they grew up, and both of them had regarded him as a mentor.
According to the Timeline, he had indeed arrived in Bo City a year ago. In a sense, he had been exiled.
Zhan Kong was definitely a High-Order Mage now, and a Triple High Level mage at that. Lu Jun didn't know if he had reached the peak of all three, but he had the strength to fight a Commander Rank Demon Beast alone. He was a heaven-sent prodigy.
He also came from a powerful background: he was the young master of the International Noble Family, the Zu Family. The Zu Family's roots stretched back to the Qin Dynasty; they were direct descendants of Qin Shi Huang, the Ancient King.
Someone of his stature had still been demoted, and the reason was simple. His girlfriend, Qin Yuer, was a Calamity Bringer—an Ice Element Calamity-stricken, just like Mu Ningxue.
The Five Continents Magic Association had judged them together. Zhan Kong had fallen from grace, while Qin Yuer had been frozen forever on distant Tianshan Mountains.
The Zu Family's standing was incredible. It had more than one Forbidden Curse mage, and unlike the Mu Family, which focused on domestic affairs, it operated internationally and had close ties with the councilors of every continent. Even so, it might not have been able to protect Zhan Kong and Qin Yuer!
Lu Jun knew the two were bound for tragedy. The so-called forces of justice were truly relentless in eliminating geniuses, all in the name of righteousness, crushing potential rivals before they could rise.
Before you continue