"Exactly! Intermediate Mages can walk all over Bo City. How could one possibly turn up somewhere like this?"
The students' back-and-forth made Lu Wu want to laugh.
Their captain, Yu Keyan, was actually already a college student affiliated with the Military Department, but he did not look that old.
As for the others, they were likewise only in magic high school, and were indeed about the same age as those students.
It was normal that they could not understand, but talking about other people so brazenly would cost them.
"Xu Zhaoting, we're asking you a question!"
"The world is so big. Isn't it normal for there to be people stronger than us? Don't be so rude." Xu Zhaoting was not so certain.
He kept feeling that these people were no ordinary characters.
In truth, Xu Zhaoting felt rather helpless.
He should have been practicing magic, but the other students had insisted on dragging him out.
He had thought eating a few skewers would not take too much time, only to hear someone asking whether they were Intermediate Mages the moment he walked in.
What Xu Zhaoting had expected even less was that those classmates of his friend's would actually join in.
"Rude? Xu Zhaoting, if you hadn't awakened the Lightning Element, do you seriously think you're worth my uncle coming to see you in person as you are now?" Wu Tao sounded rather displeased.
Watching those people actually start fighting among themselves, Lu Wu kept feeling that these fellows really were rather brainless.
And they were the frogs-at-the-bottom-of-a-well sort of brainless. From the look of things, that Xu Zhaoting fellow was not cut from the same cloth as them.
If he kept hanging around those idiots, he would get beaten up sooner or later.
"Seeing as you're not eighteen yet, you'd best show other people some respect," Mu Shengqi said.
Mages under eighteen were not allowed to engage in private duels.
"What, are you actually going to attack us?" Wu Tao, who stood beside Xu Zhaoting, raised an eyebrow.
Every Intermediate Mage in Bo City was a known figure. He had learned that much from following his uncle around all these years.
Looking at them, Mu Shengqi stood straight up. "Attack you? Of course I can. You might not be eighteen, but provocation isn't covered by that protection!"
As he spoke, Mu Shengqi released his aura. It was immensely powerful and swept straight over them.
"S-so strong!" Xu Zhaoting's eyes widened.
In fact, he had never forgotten the suffocating sensation he had felt when facing a One-Eyed Demon Wolf for the first time during the annual assessment over half a year ago.
The aura this person gave off now was likewise somewhat unfathomable.
Intermediate Level!
Even someone at the Third Tier of the Basic Level would not be this strong.
The others were no better off. With Mu Shengqi doing this deliberately, they all faced his Intermediate Level cultivation head-on.
Moreover, the concrete beneath their feet became extremely soft, and every one of them sank straight into it.
"How about just giving them a little punishment?" Yang Wan reminded him. After all, they had only just arrived.
"We had eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai! Please show mercy!" Xu Zhaoting found that struggling only made him sink deeper and hurriedly spoke.
"Senior, please show mercy!" Wu Tao's legs went weak.
His uncle was a veteran mage, but he was only a Beginner Mage, nowhere near this man's level.
"We won't dare do it again!"
"Spare us!"
"You really are a bunch of lowlifes. Weren't you throwing your weight around just now?" Lu Wu could not help saying. "Where's all your backbone now?"
"A misunderstanding! This is all a misunderstanding! You're here in Bo City for practical training, right? My name is Wu Tao. I have an uncle who knows the area around Bo City extremely well. People call him Bo City's living map..."
"Enough, enough. Nobody wants to hear that useless nonsense," Mu Shengqi cut him off. "Pay for the damage to the shop, then get lost!"
"Yes, yes, yes! We'll get lost right now!" Wu Tao was overjoyed.
They had really kicked an iron plate this time.
But who could have imagined that an Intermediate Mage this young would come to a tiny place like Bo City, where Intermediate Mages could be counted on one hand?
"All right, all right, keep eating. Don't worry about them." Yu Keyan cared even less about this little interlude. "Boss, twenty more lamb skewers!"
"Coming right up!" the owner hastily answered, afraid of offending Lu Wu and the others.
Everyone nearby had felt Mu Shengqi's imposing aura just now, and that naturally included the owner.
Wu Tao and the others struggled for ages before finally getting out of the sunken ground. After compensating the owner, they fled in a piss-and-shit scramble under Mu Shengqi's gaze.
"My apologies for offending you earlier." Xu Zhaoting looked at Lu Wu and the others. "If you need anything in Bo City, please feel free to ask."
"That won't be necessary. Just be more careful about making friends in the future." Mu Shengqi did not make things difficult for Xu Zhaoting. "Off you go."
"Farewell!"
Two hours later.
Lu Wu looked at the room key card in his hand, but did not hurry to his room. Instead, after telling Captain Yu Keyan, he began wandering the streets.
There were fewer and fewer people around now. Lu Wu hailed a taxi and headed toward the outskirts.
By rights, Little Fire should have returned already. It should not have lingered so long on its own.
Summoning Little Fire did not consume magical energy, so whether it came out was actually more a matter of mood.
Little Fire would not disobey his instructions. Perhaps something had happened.
What Lu Wu had not expected was that even after reaching the southern part of the city, he still could not sense where Little Fire was.
"It hasn't run outside, has it? It's dangerous out there." Lu Wu did not dare go any farther.
He did not know how large Bo City's Safe Zone was. Besides, he had only just arrived and was unfamiliar with both the people and the place, so it was better to be careful.
The distance was too great for him to send Little Fire a mental message, but judging by the spiritual link between the two of them, nothing had happened to Little Fire.
After waiting roughly half an hour, just as the taxi driver was getting ready to leave, Lu Wu sensed Little Fire's presence.
It returned from outside, seemingly concealed within the darkness.
Little Fire moved extremely fast, swiftly reaching Lu Wu's side before becoming his shadow. In the darkness, however, no one noticed at all.
After all, who would look at a shadow for no reason?!
With Little Fire back, Lu Wu could return with peace of mind. Yet as he sat in the taxi, he kept feeling as though a pair of eyes was watching him, making goosebumps rise all over his body.
That feeling persisted until he got out of the taxi, and only then did Lu Wu discover that there was a mature woman in the car!
"Who are you?" the woman asked Lu Wu directly.
The woman stood tall and straight, her beautifully curved figure wrapped in a skirt suit. Although the weather was not yet particularly hot, she was already wearing an office skirt.
Her voice was filled with a mature woman's allure. As she slowly emerged from the darkness inside the car, goosebumps rose all over Lu Wu's body to an extraordinary degree.
He had absolutely no idea when this woman had gotten into the car!
With his perceptive ability, he should not have failed to notice.
Moreover, this person had most likely been in the taxi with him since the outskirts. After all, that was when he had first had the impression that someone was watching him.
"Lu Wu. A mage here for practical training." Lu Wu did not dare conceal anything. This person was far stronger than he was.
And she was a Shadow Element Mage with considerable mastery at that.
"Here in Bo City for practical training?" Hearing this, Tang Yue studied Lu Wu carefully. "Why come to Bo City for practical training? Are you from Great Sparrow City?"
"I'm from Magic City." Lu Wu shook his head. Great Sparrow City was not the closest city to Bo City, but it was one of the larger ones.
Hei Guan had mentioned a few things about it.
"Magic City is a very long way from here. Are you telling me you traveled all the way here from Magic City for practical training?" Tang Yue moved closer to Lu Wu, trying to discern something.
If it had not been necessary, she would not have come all the way here from Hangzhou herself.
Although hunter mages did come to Bo City, they were mostly mages from the surrounding cities. After all, many people were unwilling to come to a city that was neither large nor small.