Mages, Let's Duel

Xu Fang looked at Mu He before him. From appearances alone, this was a smug little man, lording it over others while cowering before the strong.

But who could have known his true identity was Great Deacon Huzhen of the Black Vatican, with a hand in both the Bocheng Blood Disaster and the Ancient Capital Catastrophe?

He really had buried himself deep...

Mu He had no idea what Xu Fang was thinking and kept on blathering: "My Mu Bai awakened the Ice Element—his future's boundless. Even that worthless brat Mo Fan got lucky and awakened Fire.

And you? Light Element? Tsk, tsk, such a garbage attribute. What's the point of training it? Even if you reach Intermediate Level, you'll just be a turtle hiding in its shell.

Your parents didn't leave you much money. If you ask me, you should sell me your house, take the cash, and go play country squire in some village."

"None of your damn business." Xu Fang didn't give a damn about him. He was just living here, not some servant of the Mu Family Manor. Who was this guy to boss him around?

As for this punk dropping his disguise to assassinate him—even less likely.

He was a member of the Lie Clan. The entire Bocheng Military had their eyes on him. If Mu He made a move here, Salang, whose plans would be ruined, would have him silenced on the spot.

Mu He snorted coldly. "You're young. You haven't been beaten down by society yet."

"Looks like you've taken plenty of beatings."

"You!"

Mu He's fists clenched. He took a deep breath. "Think it over. Come find me anytime you want to sell."

With that, he turned and left, ignoring Mo Jiaxing, who was apologizing and smiling beside him.

"Ah..." Mo Jiaxing sighed, his head drooping. "Fang Zai, I don't want to lecture you, but you really need to fix that temper of yours. That's Master Mu of the Mu family. Just swallow it and move on."

Living long in this age of rigid class divisions, Mo Jiaxing had no concept of equality.

Or rather, those who did hold such ideas were the true oddballs.

Like Mo Fan. Like himself.

Xu Fang didn't feel like arguing further. He changed the subject. "Uncle, if you sell the house, where will you live?"

"Ah, I'll just rent a place." Mo Jiaxing said "rent," but his eyes unconsciously drifted to his beat-up pickup truck.

Xu Fang understood. The "house" Mo Jiaxing meant was probably that pickup.

"Uncle, how about this? I have another place, left to me by my grandparents. If you don't mind, you can stay there for now."

"No, no, I can't accept that!"

Mo Jiaxing waved his hands frantically.

"Uncle, don't rush to refuse." Xu Fang said. "That place is pretty remote, in a town on the city's edge. It's hard to rent out normally anyway.

Besides, it's an old house, pretty run-down, and hasn't been lived in for years. You'd be adding some life to it for me. There are two trees my grandpa planted in the backyard—one's a date tree, and the other's also a date tree. If you have time, you could water them for me or something."

Hearing this, Mo Jiaxing was actually a bit tempted.

"Also, don't work for the Mu family anymore. The Military has a Procurement Convoy running from the city to Xuefeng Mountain. The pay's not bad, and the transport route is inside the Safety Zone—very safe. The person in charge is a friend of my mom's. I'll ask her to add your name to the roster." Xu Fang said.

Mo Jiaxing was torn. On one hand, what Xu Fang offered was exactly what he desperately needed. On the other, accepting a favor from a kid, especially one who was his son's acquaintance, was hard to swallow.

Xu Fang could pretty much guess what was going through his mind.

He was willing to help Mo Jiaxing, not because he was Mo Fan's father. More importantly, Mo Jiaxing was a man worthy of respect—honest, loyal, optimistic, and as tolerant as he could be toward the younger generation.

Not to mention, he himself was sallow from malnutrition, but Mo Fan and Ye Xin Xia never lacked for food or clothes. When Mo Fan wanted to go to high school, he sold the house without a second thought.

For Xu Fang, whose parents had passed away, that alone was enough to make him put in a few more words.

"Uncle, Mu He talks a lot of crap, but he did say one true thing. If Mo Fan wants to become a Primary Mage, he can't do it without resources. A single Magic Tool costs at least a hundred thousand. Can he make it without money? Uncle, you don't want Mo Fan to never become a mage, do you?"

Mo Jiaxing was completely convinced. He rubbed his hands together nervously. "Then... thank you, Fang Zai. I'll pay rent..."

"That's nothing. But Uncle, I should warn you, the place is really small. Mo Fan and Xin Xia..." Xu Fang said.

"That's no problem!"

Mo Jiaxing quickly cut in. "Mo Fan can board at school, and Xin Xia can stay at her aunt's place. It's already more than enough if it can fit just me."

The worse Xu Fang made the conditions sound, the more relieved Mo Jiaxing felt.

The next day, Xu Fang arrived at school early, greeted by all kinds of strange looks.

Yesterday's rooftop jumping incident had made him, a freshman, quite famous.

They always said "Water and Light Elements meet on the rooftop," but in all the years Tianlan Magic High School had been around, Xu Fang was the only one who actually jumped.

Good thing he had thick skin. He didn't care, walking straight to his seat in the back row by the window.

"Oh, oh, oh, if it isn't Xu Fang. Guess the rooftop wasn't high enough—didn't kill you." No sooner had he sat down than Mu Bai's lackey, Zhao Kun San, came over to provoke him.

Zhao Kun San was now riding high too. He'd awakened the Wind Element. Sure, he was still a nobody compared to Mu Bai and Mo Fan, but compared to Xu Fang's Light Element...

"Xu Fang, you were so cocky when we were kids. Karma's a bitch!" Zhao Kun San gloated. "How about it? Call me Third Brother, and I'll have your back."

Before awakening, he'd been meek and mild. After awakening, he threw his weight around. That was this "Third Brother" for you.

Xu Fang was about to show this punk the art of cursing out eighteen generations of ancestors when a voice rang out beside him. "Zhao Kun San, shut your dog mouth!"

Mo Fan strode over, followed by Zhang Xiaohou, who was as skinny as a rack of ribs.

Zhao Kun San instinctively shrank toward Mu Bai, craning his neck and said, "Mo Fan, I was talking about Xu Fang. What's it to you?"

"Say one more word, and I, Mo Fan, will teach you a lesson today!"

Zhao Kun San grumbled but didn't dare speak anymore.

Seeing his lackey threatened, Mu Bai felt his face was lost and said coldly, "Mo Fan, don't go too far."

"Green Tea Man, did I ask you?"

"You!"

The two top students of the class squared off, and the other students craned their necks to watch the commotion.

Xu Fang urged, "Forget it, Bro Fan, we're all classmates. Bickering like this just makes us a laughingstock."

"Yellow Hair, you..." Mo Fan frowned, about to say more, when he heard Xu Fang speak up: "If you ask me, since we're all mages, let's settle it fair and square in the arena. After school today, whoever chickens out is a coward. How about it?"

Xu Fang showed his fist, big as a sandbag, and Mu Bai's face couldn't hold its composure.

Mages?

They'd just awakened and couldn't even use a single spell. What kind of mages were they? If you wanted to beat me up, just say so!

Xu Fang and Mo Fan were both street-brawling thugs. No matter which one he faced, he'd only end up getting beaten.

That little punk was definitely doing this on purpose!

Mo Fan was amused too, stirring the pot with glee: "Yellow Hair's right. If you've got balls, fight it out. Whoever backs down is a coward!"

Seeing their malicious gazes, Mu Bai's face shifted between emotions. Just as he didn't know how to salvage the situation, a voice like heavenly music rang out.

"What are you all doing? Don't you know class is starting? Get back to your seats!" Head Teacher Xue Mu Sheng scolded.

"Fighting and making a ruckus on the first day of school? What kind of behavior is that? The class rules are posted up front. Anyone who breaks them again will face the consequences!"

Seeing the students had settled down, Xue Mu Sheng nodded in satisfaction. "Now, hand out the textbooks and prepare for class."