Versatile Mage c1-2021, page 303
"HAHAHA, I never expected to spend my New Year's here. Either way, it's great to be alive," said Zhang Xiaohou.
"Yeah, how lucky are we to survive two great calamities!" agreed Zhao Kunsan.
"Let's give Mo Fan a toast, come. Hey, put Mo Fan's picture on your iPad and set it straight. That's right, let's send him our regards."
"Should we light up three incense sticks, too?"
"Put his photo on grayscale..."
Chapter 701 - Competition Between the Institutes
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
The Imperial College...
"Snow as skin, ice as bone, three thousand silver silk, and beauty enough to cause the fall of a nation; knowing your reputation is nowhere as good as meeting you in person. I'm Gong Yu, it's my honor to meet Miss Mu Ningxue here," said a cultured man politely as he walked up gracefully.
Mu Ningxue walked past the man without casting a glance at him.
Her ears were fed up from hearing the same compliments over and over again. She had zero interest in this man called Gong Yu.
Gong Yu seemed rather patient and gentlemanly. He was not bothered by Mu Ningxue's bone-chilling attitude. He wore a self-mocking grin and quickly followed after her.
"Regardless of what you think of me, we're still one another's teammates for the following year… I almost forgot to mention, I've officially become a candidate representing China in the World College Tournament," added Gong Yu, who was still wearing a smile, as if he was confident that the second half of the sentence was enough to pry open the icy beauty in front of him.
As he thought, Mu Ningxue lifted her gaze and turned toward him...
The smile on Gong Yu's face blossomed.
He was normally not a show-off, even though it took him great effort just to secure the spot. However, when dealing with a woman like Mu Ningxue, flowery speech would not work against her. Only strength was the most effective to grab her attention.
However, the smile on Gong Yu's face quickly stiffened when he discovered that Mu Ningxue was not even looking at him, but at a middle-aged man who was walking toward them.
"Xiao Xue, come with dad," said Mu Zhuoyun sternly, completely ignoring Gong Yu's presence.
Mu Ningxue nodded and followed Mu Zhuoyun to a classroom nearby.
---
Mu Zhuoyun purposely checked if anyone was nearby as they entered the classroom. He let out a decrepit sigh.
"What's wrong?" asked Mu Ningxue in confusion.
Even though the past few years had been rough for her father, it was rare to see him react so. He must have stumbled into something troublesome.
"Your uncle Mu He… that son of a bitch was already one of the Black Vatican when he was young. He even became a leader in the Black Vatican. That asshole is a total shame to our family!" Mu Zhuoyun slammed his fist into the wall as his c.h.e.s.t heaved.
Mu Ningxue fell silent. This was indeed something she had not expected!
"A while ago, the Patriarchs of many renowned families gathered at Jinfen Building for a meeting. Mu He's involvement in the Black Vatican caused a great panic between the renowned families. The Patriarchs of many families and tribes have reached a verdict to kick us out from the list of renowned families. Our family is described as a bad egg by others in the clan… It's… I don't even..." Mu Zhuoyun started rambling toward the end of his sentence.
He was behaving like this because of fury, but also because of his sense of helplessness. Mu He's identity had brought great harm to their family!
"So, what do they want from us now?" asked Mu Ningxue calmly. She was calmer than her father had imagined.
"They want you to give your spot in the World College Tournament to Mu Tingying," sighed Mu Zhuoyun.
"Are they really that shameless?" Mu Ningxue asked coldly.
"It can't be helped. It's unfortunate that son of a bitch Mu He was my brother, and your uncle. We're already in a pinch because of the calamity that took place in Bo City, and now this is giving us a deadly blow… the Enforcement Union will be investigating everyone from our family. I don't care how the clan is going to pick on us, but I'm worried that the Councilmen in charge of the World College Tournament will not overlook your tainted identity. They might even take your name off the list. Once that happens, all our effort for the past few years will be in vain," said Mu Zhuoyun.
Mu Zhuoyun had visited every family in the clan to gain as many resources as possible for his daughter, just to secure the spot.
No one was more familiar with Mu Ningxue's talents than Mu Zhuoyun. She would definitely become the strongest Ice Magician in their country with enough resources.
Mu Ningxue did not let him down, either. She successfully earned a spot to participate in the World College Tournament. However, the bad news of Mu He being the Black Vatican's Great Deacon had taken them by surprise, totally wasting their efforts over so many years.
They would completely lose their reputation because of him!
No one would dare to have any business relationship with Mu Zhuoyun. No one would be willing to do him favors. The fact that his brother was the Black Vatican's Great Deacon would be known to everyone he knew in no time!
Mu Zhuoyun could already feel it. The people that he finally got close to were avoiding him. The business that was finally about to return had suffered a sudden, devastating decline once again. The torture and pain he had suffered and the dignity he had lost since the calamity of Bo City were already too much, and yet what awaited him was an even worse nightmare!
"If they have already decided, there's nothing we can do," said Mu Ningxue.
"But, you've earned the spot through hard work..." protested Mu Zhuoyun.
"If Mu Tingying wants to replace me, we'll see if she's actually worthy enough to do so!"
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Mid-autumn, the Imperial College was still swept by cold breezes.
The center of the Imperial College was a majestic dueling ground. The whole place had the shape of a pentagram, with four black arcs forming a retractable roof over the top. The seats around the dueling ground could hold up to fifty thousand people!
The dueling ground was rarely opened to the public. Only duels of certain levels were qualified to be held here!
The seats were empty, but ten young Magicians were standing at the middle of the dueling ground in a row. They were wearing cool magic robes, capes and mantles!
"I'm proud to meet all of you that stood out among the students in your respective institutes. You will soon represent our nation and compete against talented Magicians from other countries. Even though I'm inclined to hold a great ceremony to send you off to other countries for training, I'm more inclined to hold it to celebrate the glory you'll earn for our country in the future. It will be a hundred, a thousand times grander than you expect now, as you are the pride of country!" Dean Song He's voice echoed in the ears of the young Magicians.
Dean Song He was appointed to lead the national team's training. When Spring arrived, the selections for the national team of each country would come to an end. The national teams would then be sent to different countries for training, and between Spring and Summer the year after, they would be competing in the World College Tournament that would be held in the City of Canals, Venice!
Although the students were the cream of the crop, the year-long training was extremely important too. It would help each of the young Magicians to improve fundamentally!
Chapter 702 - Ice Bow, Absolute Strength!
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
"Strange, it felt cold all of a sudden, is the weather changing?"
"Isn't that Mu Ningxue?"
"It looks like she was turned into a substitute, I even heard someone mentioned that she might get kicked out of the team...depending on the Councilmen's decision."
Gong Yu stood among the crowd glancing at Mu Ningxue, who was walking toward them with a mocking look.
"Say, Mu Ningxue, did you come to the wrong place? This gathering is only meant for the main team. I know that you're still a substitute, but who knows, you might not even be on the national team soon..." said a girl whose hair was dyed brown among the crowd.
She was Mu Tingying, the young talent that the Mu Clan had decided to focus their support on.
Mu Tingying really hated Mu Ningxue, as she was chosen as the little bitch's substitute despite her status in the Mu Clan. Mu Ningxue had been standing on her head for a long time, but Heaven had finally given her a chance, thus Mu Tingying was extremely satisfied with the current circ.u.mstances.
Mu Ningxue ignored her remarks. She went straight up to the five advisors.
The five advisors consisted of people with great authority. It did not matter how many votes a candidate had received, they were the ones making the final decision!
Unfortunately, the five advisors were never biased toward anyone. The reason they were appointed as the advisors was because they shared the same goal: to achieve the highest possible ranking in the World College Tournament!
Although it felt like the World College Tournament mainly focused on the competition between young Magicians, it was extremely important to every country, as the ranking of the countries in the tournament was used to determine the distribution of resources...
The World College Tournament was no game. Most importantly, the whole world would be fixing their gaze on it!
"I know I've been blacklisted, and I know the reason behind it, but I've come here today only for one reason, to let you reevaluate us..." Mu Ningxue stood in front of the advisors and said sternly.
"Reevaluate? Oh Ningxue, I know the incident is extremely unfair to you, but the sins that the Black Vatican committed were simply unforgivable. We're actually trying to protect you by not letting you participate in the tournament. The grudges of the victims in the calamity of the Ancient Capital were too strong. They might even put the blame on you if you show up in the public representing our country..." advised Dean Song He with tactful words.
Dean Song He knew that Mu Ningxue was more worthy than anyone else to represent their country in the national team. However, the calamity of the Ancient Capital had just been resolved. The people were still blinded by hatred.
"Hence why I've asked you to reevaluate me. I hope that this bow can take away your biased opinions toward me!"
"What bow?" The other advisors were confused.
Mu Ningxue did not speak further. She turned around and fixed her gaze on the spacious, empty dueling ground.
Suddenly, her snowy-silver hair rose as her long skirt drifted to the wind. Her glamorous figure looked even more stunning in the cold breeze that had appeared out of nowhere!
Her innate Ice Soul Seed, the hair with the color of snow drifting in the wind and the smooth, tender skin like ice, she was indeed the most perfect Ice Magician. Her focus on the Ice Element, and her aura that seemed to have merged with the ice and snow left the advisors astonished!
However, Mu Ningxue was not here to display her extraordinary beauty. She slowly extended her arms, acc.u.mulating the crystalline ice particles from her surroundings, combining into a stunning ice bow!
The bow was lacking a string and arrow, but Mu Ningxue simply pulled her hand back. A transparent, breathtaking arrow appeared between her half-curled index finger and middle finger!
"Is...is this..." Dean Song He and the four national team advisors were stunned!
Mu Ningxue let go of the arrow. Her long hair drifted wildly in the sudden gust of wind and covered a face as exquisite as a work of art.
The ice arrow swept forward and instantly stirred up a howling ice storm in the spacious dueling ground!
The arrow was fired into the air. It drew an arc and landed on the star-shaped dueling ground.
Ice crystals spread rapidly with an overwhelming icy aura. While the people were still stunned by the formidable aura of the arrow that Mu Ningxue had just fired, the whole place was entirely frozen as soon as the arrow landed on the ground!
The icy energy bypassed the barrier and froze the seats. Luckily, the seats were empty, they were covered by ice in the blink of an eye...
Half of the dueling ground was now covered in ice. The reflection was a breathtaking sight with a tremendous visual impact!
The ten students turned their heads, glancing at the astounding sight with blank faces.
They never thought Mu Ningxue, who they assumed to be on par with them, had mastered such a formidable Ice Magic, countless times stronger than their best spells. The five advisors were left speechless, overwhelmed with shock.
Reevaluate...
So that's what the girl meant!
Absolute strength! She was planning to use her absolute strength to f.o.r.c.i.b.l.y clear the stain on her name!
She would not give up on becoming a candidate of the national team. She had worked diligently the past few years just for this chance. She initially thought she could easily secure the spot without relying on the Ice Crystal Bow...
"I want to join the team, even if I'm only a substitute," Mu Ningxue took a deep breath. She tightened her grip and broke the Ice Crystal Bow into powder.
Mu Ningxue clearly knew that it was likely they would remove her from the list of substitutes.
It took the advisors a long time to recover from the shock of witnessing half of the dueling ground being turned into ice. Mu Ningxue's arrow had completely moved their hearts!
They exchanged glances with one another as if they were discussing among themselves.
Her power over the Ice Element was indeed worthy for them to reevaluate their decision!
"Your strength has indeed moved us. We'll personally request that the higher-ups secure your spot in the team as a substitute. You will join the others in the training in other countries," said an advisor with tiger stripes on his forehead.
"Feng Li, the higher-ups have already arranged a substitute to join the team out of nowhere, and now her..." said a short advisor beside the man.
"It won't make any difference, the training will last for a year, and not every student will remain unharmed throughout the training. Someone might die, someone might get disqualified. It's fine to let them join the national team for the training," said Advisor Feng Li.
"I agree, sending twelve or thirteen people on the training won't make much of a difference," said Dean Song He smilingly.
"By the way, who's the other substitute?"
"I never met him before."
"Neither did I, he was put onto the team without us evaluating his strength. Someone needs to make sure the national government is behaving themselves."
"Feng Li, are you aware of the kid's background? How did he manage to bypass the five of us? Even the senior official's son has to listen to my scolding, who could he possibly be that the higher-ups are being so secretive!" said the shorty.
Feng Li shook his head as he spoke, "I have no clue, either. I only know that the kid is called… Mo Fan."
Chapter 703 - Heading Down the Mountain!
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
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"I thought you were going to sacrifice yourself again," Tangyue's voice, with a weird tone to it, came into Mo Fan's ears.
Mo Fan purposely stood on his toes at the edge of a cliff. A strong wind was blowing past his ears. Before his feet was a deep abyss shrouded by a white mist.
"Hello, hello, yeah, I've eaten, the food here is pretty light, the old taoist told me to abstain from eating meat, but I normally go hunting in the mountains. The mountain beasts are absolutely delicious. Pure natural and pollution-free..." responded Mo Fan in a loud voice.
After testing various cliffs and almost fall off the edge a couple of times, Mo Fan found out that this peak had the best reception across all of the entire Mount Hua.
"Who asked you about food, I'm being serious, you should stay away from those maniacs from the Black Vatican. I'm worried that you'll be gone all of a sudden," said Tangyue.
"What? My cultivation? It will soon recover, I'm still in the Advanced Level. Not only did I manage to restore the Nebulas of other Elements, they are now all in the third-tier too. This place is perfect for cultivation. I almost fell in love with it. The only downside is there isn't any taoist nuns around. Oh, I didn't even find a female monkey. Miss Tangyue, why don't you come and spend a few days here with me? Spending too much time in the city full of concrete isn't good for your health. You should come here to stand close to nature..." It had been a while since Mo Fan last conversed with someone. He kept on talking into the phone.
Tangyue's forehead was covered in black lines.
She knew the signal in the mountain was bad, but it should not be this bad.
"Oh, I've got something to tell you," said Tangyue sternly.
"Yeah, go on, I can hear you clearly!"
"Do you remember how the big guy showed up in the city?" said Tangyue.
The big guy that Tangyue mentioned was referring to the Black Totem Snake. He was now treated as Hangzhou's precious possession, attracting lots of tourists to the West Lake. They were not hoping they could see the real Black Totem Snake. They were satisfied enough listening to the tales, enjoying the scenery and watching the giant shadow under the West Lake!
"I do, I almost wet my pants!" Mo Fan managed to hear the sentence clearly.
Mo Fan remembered that he was enjoying a date with Xinxia at the time. He even booked a romantic room for the night through his phone under the table. However, the Black Totem Snake's sudden appearance between two skyscr.a.p.ers completely destroyed his plan.
Either way, the Black Totem Snake owed him a hotel room!
"Initially, I thought he only showed up there because of his unstable emotion during the ecdysis. However, the big guy has woken up recently, so I've asked him about it," said Tangyue.
