"Mo Fan, what are you standing around for? Thank your father-in-law," Xu Fang said.
"Thank him for what?" Mo Fan rolled his eyes. "Is this really how you take in a son-in-law? They're treating me like a dog!"
Xu Fang laughed. "There are tons of people down there who'd love to be dogs and can't even manage that. Just look at Mu Bai and Zhao Kun San—they've got eyes as big as eggs."
"People and dogs are on different paths. I, Mo Fan, am not some idiot who'll wag his tail just because he gets slapped and then thrown a bone. I'll never forget how that old dog Mu tried to crush my family all those years ago!"
Mo Fan looked at Mu Zhuoyun and pointed at him, cursing, "You old fossil, listen up. Don't think I'd join the Mu Family even if you made me a core disciple. You could put Mu Ningxue and her dowry right in front of me and beg me to join, and I still wouldn't give a damn! You really think everyone has to revolve around your Mu Family? Have you got water in your brain?"
The principal, the dean of students, school trustee Deng Kai, Mu Bai, Zhao Kun San, the homeroom teacher Xue Mu Sheng, the students of Class 8, and Mu Ningxue herself were all dumbfounded.
Mu Zhuoyun had been in a daze the whole time. How many years had it been since anyone in Bocheng had pointed at him and cursed him to his face?
When he finally came to his senses, his expression darkened at once.
"Crack! Crack!"
A sheet of ice suddenly formed beneath his feet. A chill swept outward, as if it were the embodiment of his fury.
He hadn't even cast a spell. Just the magic energy spilling from him had been enough to do that. An Intermediate Mage—terrifying indeed!
The students all turned pale, staring at the scene in horror. Mu Zhuoyun, enraged, had shown them the power of one of Bocheng's strongest fighters!
Deng Kai and Principal Zhu both stepped forward. "Zhuoyun, this is a school. Calm down!"
"He's mad, he's mad!" Xu Fang said, wearing an exaggerated expression. "Fan, could this aura be the legendary power of an Intermediate Mage?"
Mo Fan had no idea what he was getting at, but he played along. "Yeah."
"No way, no way. Surely there are people who sit on half of Bocheng's resources, grow a beard down to their waist, and still can't break through to the Advanced Level, right? No way, no way!" Xu Fang's expression grew even more infuriating.
"Hahaha, sitting on the throne without taking a dump!" Mo Fan joined in, eager to stir up trouble. "By the time I'm his age, I'll have him calling me Dad!"
"Then wouldn't that make me his uncle?"
"Get lost. Don't try to make yourself sound older than me. You're his uncle at most!"
Mu Zhuoyun was about to explode with rage!
Though Mu Zhuoyun wasn't as naturally gifted as Mu Ningxue, he had been a celebrated genius in his day. He'd never taken students from ordinary high schools seriously!
"Bastard! You've got some nerve! Forget how Mr. Mu Zhuoyun was in his youth—even now, any core disciple from the Mu Clan could knock you flat in a single move!"
"There's no need to use a butcher's knife to kill a chicken. I, Mu Bai, am all you need! If you lose, get down on your knees at once and apologize to the Mu Clan and Old Master Mu!"
Mu Bai thoughtfully handed the leash to Mu Zhuoyun.
He, Mu Bai, was the same generation as Xu Fang and Mo Fan. A fair duel would settle both old and new grudges. Then let's see what you have to say!
"The Mu Clan?" Xu Fang laughed. "A clan with an Intermediate Mage holding down the fort?"
Pfft!
Lies didn't hurt people. The truth was the real knife. It plunged straight into the hearts of the Mu Family members, drawing even more blood than calling Mu Zhuoyun an old dog.
The standard for a great family was whether it had a Super Level Mage holding down the fort.
The Imperial Capital's Mu Clan certainly had one. They even had a Forbidden Curse Mage. But the Bocheng Mu Clan? To put it nicely, they were a branch family. In reality, they were just poor, annoying relatives—the Jia family and Granny Liu all over again.
If they didn't have a genius like Mu Ningxue, the Imperial Capital's Mu Clan wouldn't even bother acknowledging the Bocheng branch.
Mu Zhuoyun's face turned the color of pig liver. Just as Mu Bai was about to jump in, a cold voice rang out. "You don't need to."
Mu Ningxue!
No one had expected the aloof girl to step forward.
Mu Ningxue walked between Mu Zhuoyun and Xu Fang and Mo Fan, a hint of anger in her icy, snow-capped-mountain eyes.
"If you think my father is bullying people younger than him, fine. I'm your age. I'll fight you myself!"
Xu Fang gave a light cough. "Sister-in-law, let's talk this out. What's a girl doing fighting and killing?"
"Are you afraid?"
"It's not that I'm afraid. This is a private matter between you two. I'm an outsider—I shouldn't get involved." Xu Fang stepped back, putting Mo Fan in front of him.
Mo Fan looked as defiant as ever. The fact that he was facing Mu Ningxue didn't faze him in the slightest. "Fight? Why not? Fighting you sounds a lot more interesting than fighting that good-for-nothing Mu Bai."
Mu Bai, down below: "..."
School trustee Deng Kai tried to mediate. "Since Ningxue is willing to duel, that's for the best. The Magic Association's rules require you to wait until you're eighteen before stepping into the arena. I'd be willing to act as the referee then."
He was trying to turn this from an "insult" into an ordinary Magic Duel.
The Mage Convention stipulated that when a conflict between mages couldn't be reconciled, the state permitted them to fight in private and settle things in an arena, as long as they held back and didn't take anyone's life.
Anyone who crossed that line could expect the Judgment Society to hunt them down!
"Brother Zhuoyun, what do you think?"
Mu Zhuoyun glanced at Deng Kai. Deng Kai was a high-ranking member of the Hunter's Alliance, so Mu Zhuoyun had to show him some respect.
But there was no way he was letting these two get off lightly!
"Ningxue, this isn't for you to handle!" Mu Zhuoyun said coldly. "My adopted son, Yu Ang, is around your age. Let him fight them!"
"Father!"
Mu Ningxue tried to argue further, but Mu Zhuoyun couldn't swallow his anger. Not even the Jade Emperor himself could talk him down.
"Sure!" Mo Fan wasn't scared in the slightest. "I'd feel bad fighting a girl. A guy's better. I'll beat him so badly his own father won't recognize him!"
"Fighting Yu Ang? Count me in!" Xu Fang said eagerly.
Mu Zhuoyun was so angry that his beard trembled. What did these two little brats take Yu Ang for!?
"Fine! Whether you come at him together or one after another, our Yu Ang won't lose!" After throwing out that threat, Mu Zhuoyun turned and left.
He left, and the other school officials naturally had no reason to stay.
As Mu Ningxue left, she gave Mo Fan a long look, as if she wanted to say something, but she didn't speak.
"She's actually pretty nice," Xu Fang said with a smile.
Mo Fan folded his arms, looking smug. "Of course. She's the first wife I picked!"
Mu Ningxue had been trying to help them.
In her eyes, having her step in to settle things would be far less severe than letting Mu Zhuoyun act. If a local emperor like Mu Zhuoyun made a move, it would deal a devastating blow to Mo Fan and Xu Fang.
Unfortunately, though Mu Zhuoyun was a dog, he wasn't stupid. He'd simply sent someone else in his place: Yu Ang, the Mu Clan's most notorious training maniac.
Mu Yuang obeyed Mu Zhuoyun without question, loyal to him with no thought of betrayal.
Even if Mu Zhuoyun ordered Yu Ang to kill someone on the spot, Yu Ang wouldn't hesitate for a second!
Mu Zhuoyun had no reason to show mercy to the little brats who'd dared to curse him like that. He'd let them see the sun for their last two years at school, then settle the score once they graduated and came of age.
Picking a fight with the Mu Clan? They must be tired of living!
Before you continue