Beast Fighting Competition (Finale)

199!

As the school leaders finished speaking, the entire arena fell into Stillness.

Mo Fan had already shown how powerful he was, and the students knew that anyone who had cultivated to his level had to come from a prominent family. Yet he still hadn't used a single piece of Magic Equipment.

In other words, who knew how many more tricks Mo Fan had up his sleeve?

Now even the proud heirs of prominent families felt intimidated.

Victory would bring unparalleled fame and glory.

But if they lost, neither they nor their families would escape the pressure that followed.

The public resources for every freshman in the school were at stake for an entire semester. No one dared take that responsibility lightly.

"No one dares go up. Mo Fan's really going to win," Ai Tutu said, glancing at Mu Nujiao.

After her high school entrance exams, Ai Tutu had run away from home in a fit of anger and come to Magic City. With her talent for finding someone to mother her, she had spotted Mu Nujiao in the crowd at once—a girl with an equal talent for playing the mother.

She had then shamelessly clung to Mu Nujiao for three years.

Naturally, she knew that Sister Mu, composed and noble on the outside and gentle and kind within, was fiercely competitive at heart.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have earned the nickname "battle maniac" among the heirs of prominent families during their three years of high school.

Now that Mu Nujiao had finally encountered a mage as strong as Mo Fan, could she really resist challenging him?

Zhou Sining could sense Mu Nujiao itching for a fight too, and he couldn't help turning to look at her.

At first, he really hadn't wanted Mu Nujiao to face Mo Fan. But with the tension built up like this, watching two experts fight wouldn't be bad either.

At worst, he could make it clear to Mo Fan over drinks that night: "A friend's girl is off-limits."

"What are you looking at me for?" Mu Nujiao glanced from one to the other, amused.

"Not planning to go Friendly Sparring with him?" Zhou Sining asked.

"I'd like to, actually, but he's your friend. And from what you've told me, he probably doesn't have much Magic Equipment. It'd be unfair of me to go up there," Mu Nujiao said with a smile.

The main reason, though, was Zhou Sining.

He had saved her life just a few days ago. Knocking his friend out of the competition now would be a rotten way to repay him.

"You're that confident you could beat him?"

Mu Nujiao raised an eyebrow. "What? Does he have something else up his sleeve?"

Zhou Sining didn't deny it. "You'll find out someday."

That only made Mu Nujiao more curious.

In the end, though, she suppressed her urge for Friendly Sparring.

The arena remained quiet. For a long time, no one dared step forward.

"If no one else comes forward, I'll take that as a forfeit. This semester's public resources for every department will go to the Summoning System!" Dean Xiao announced.

At those words, the whole arena fell into deathly Stillness.

Several minutes passed, and still no one stepped forward.

The freshmen could no longer sit still. The arena erupted again.

"Where are all the big shots? Save us..."

"Don't tell me there are only two or three Intermediate Mages among the ten thousand-plus people here!"

"Damn it! I really need those resources!"

"Waaah, I got into Pearl Academy for the extra resources..."

"Damn it! Isn't there anyone else at Pearl Academy who can step up?!" Luo Song clenched his fists, privately regretting that he had entered the arena so early.

Otherwise, he would have thrown every piece of Magic Equipment he had into taking Mo Fan down right now!

Despair spread through the freshmen, but Zhou Sining seemed to feel none of it. Calmly, he opened an app and searched for the highest-rated barbecue place in Magic City.

"Looks like the show's over~" he said with a grin.

A few nearby boys heard him and scowled. "Shut the fuck up!"

Zhou Sining looked up at them, his grin widening.

"If you're that upset, why don't you go up there? Don't tell me you can't beat him?"

"Wow~ The way you were yelling just now, I thought you were above fighting him."

"Come on, boys, you can't admit you're not up to it. He's only an Intermediate Mage of the Lightning Element. You should have no trouble with him~"

"Go on, boys! Beat him and I'll treat you to dinner~"

Zhou Sining's mockery cut deeper than any curse.

"You talk big about everyone else being scared, but you're hiding here like a turtle too!" someone snapped.

"So?" Zhou Sining couldn't be bothered to give that idiot another glance.

"You... Come out and fight me one-on-one if you've got the guts!"

Zhou Sining kept up the mockery. "If you've got that much energy, why not go into the arena? What kind of man picks on a frail little guy like me from the sidelines~"

"Oh no, don't tell me you're picking on me because you're afraid you can't beat Mo Fan?"

"Please, boys, don't be a bunch of losers who can only hide in the crowd and bark~"

Ai Tutu couldn't hold back a snort of laughter. "Sister Mu, he's hilarious! Hahaha!"

Mu Nujiao laughed too.

When Zhou Sining had cursed out Shen Feng earlier, every line had been filthier than the last. She hadn't expected him to have such a "humorous" side.

Seeing Mu Nujiao smiling beside him, the boys nearly exploded with rage.

Losing this semester's resources was bad enough. Now that bastard Zhou Sining was tearing into them, and the worst part was that they couldn't even win the argument?!

He was going too far!

"Enough. If you're too scared to go up, get lost and eat dinner. Otherwise, the cafeteria will only have slop left."

Then Zhou Sining feigned surprise. "Oh! I forgot your resources were taken. I guess you won't have much of an appetite anyway."

"What a shame."

With his tone and expression, anyone who didn't know better might have thought Zhou Sining genuinely felt sorry for them!

"..."

Meanwhile, Dean Xiao looked both pleased and grim.

He was pleased that a promising talent like Mo Fan had emerged.

But he was grim because a full twenty minutes had passed without anyone daring to challenge Mo Fan!

Since when had Pearl Academy's freshmen lost even this much courage and nerve???

"Dean Xiao, perhaps we should let it go... If all the freshmen's resources really go to one department, this won't end well," one Department Director advised.

"Rules are rules!"

Dean Xiao snorted. "These freshmen of Pearl Academy are supposed to be the best and brightest, students who fought their way in from all over the country. Not one of them dares step forward, and you, a teacher, have the nerve to say we should let it go!"

"Since when did Pearl Academy's teachers sink so low?!"

His words left more than a dozen Department Directors afraid to raise their heads.

The sight only made Dean Xiao angrier.

He cleared his throat and roared, "Quiet!"

His voice burst over the Arena like a thunderclap, leaving everyone's ears ringing and their heads spinning.

The boom echoed through the Arena, and no one dared make another sound.

"I'm very disappointed in you. Whatever your reasons, a full twenty minutes have passed, and not one of you has dared step forward!"

"Terrible. Your performance has been absolutely terrible!"

"When someone proposed giving you the Summoning System's resources if it failed to reach one hundred, why didn't you stand up and call that unfair?"

"When someone proposed giving the Summoning System every department's resources if it reached two hundred, why didn't you stand up and call that unfair?"

"But the moment Mo Fan completed the challenge, you banded together and openly protested with this unruly behavior. Do you think that's right?"

"Have you forgotten what I said before the competition began? What kind of mages our school motto calls on us to raise? The responsibility you bear as wielders of supreme Magic?"

"If Pearl Academy has admitted nothing but cowards who care only for fame and fortune, I'd rather give those resources to students with more backbone than you!"

Dean Xiao's words struck everyone's ears like thunder. His rebuke was full of disappointment!

Even the older students, who had spent some time at Pearl Academy, lowered their heads alongside the freshmen and dared not say another word.

Dean Xiao was truly angry. Before anyone could object, he went on.

"Some of you may think Mo Fan comes from a great family and reached the Intermediate Level before you because he had far more resources."

"But let me tell you, he doesn't. He comes from Bo City! Bo City, where blood ran through the streets a year ago! His family is poorer than most of yours!"

The crowd fell completely silent.

Many stared at Mo Fan in the middle of the arena in disbelief. The objections on the tips of their tongues would not come out.

"That's enough. Today's Beast Fighting Competition is over. This semester's public resources for every department will go to the Summoning System," Dean Xiao announced without hesitation.