Versatile Mage c1-2021, page 476
Pang Lai's gaze sharpened. His eyes immediately turned into a ferocious, pitch-black demon leopard lunging at the young Mage, even though it was a mere illusion.
Jack was taken by surprise. He subconsciously took a few steps back. His face turned pale as cold sweat started pouring down on it!
"Kid, watch your tone," Pang Lai snapped coldly.
Jack was struggling to breathe. His eyes were filled with disbelief.
Vice Elder Gisele was startled when she noticed something. She observed Pang Lai carefully.
"May I know who you are? The little kid might be insensible, but was that really necessary?" The Vice Elder, Gisele sounded cautious, yet she had no intention of backing off.
"I'm not the kind of person that will threaten someone with my identity. We have already decided to buy the item, so please don't intervene further!" Pang Lai declared.
"How are we intervening? We saw it first!"
"But have you paid for it? Did the shop owner say that the thing is yours? You said that you had reached a deal with the owner, yet he was trying to sell it to us. It's obvious that your student is only interested in it, yet he didn't say he was going to buy it! Mister, don't you change your mind now just because she is a Vice Elder. If you aren't doing business the way you should, I won't go easy on you, either!" Pang Lai said.
Both Gisele and Hubert were stunned by Pang Lai's words. First of all, Gisele was utterly dumbfounded, as she had always gotten her way whenever she revealed her identity as the Vice Elder of the Sacred Hall of Liberty. It was rare to stumble into anyone that dared to challenge her, and she had gotten used to it, yet the old man totally disregarded her status!
Hubert was even more lost in thoughts. The old man's reaction implied that his status was no lower than the Vice Elder of the Sacred Hall of Liberty. Why would two people with formidable backgrounds come to his shop at the same time? What was he supposed to do?
"Mister, I'll let you decide," Gisele harrumphed coldly.
Hubert looked back and forth between the two. He finally decided to do business fairly and accepted Pang Lai's card.
Since he could not afford to offend either side, he was obliged to do it the normal way. The Asians did express their willingness to buy the item, and the Americans had interrupted halfway...
"Aren't you going to tell us your name?" Gisele asked in an unfriendly voice.
The item was quite a valuable find, yet someone else had taken it away from them. It clearly had put Gisele in a bad mood. She did not believe that the old man was actually an authoritative figure!
"Pang Lai," Pang Lai responded, displeased.
---
Pang Lai made the payment and received the goods. He immediately left with Mo Fan and Jiang Yu without paying any further attention to Gisele and Jack.
Gisele was stunned for a moment. It took her awhile just to collect her thoughts.
Some time after Pang Lai left, Jack recovered from his fear and blurted out, "Advisor, why did you let them leave just like that? Who do they think they are, acting so arrogantly in Venice? How dare they not show any respect to the Sacred Hall of Liberty!"
"You better watch yourself around that old man. It's not like you have to respect him or anything, but his status is rather special. You're full of youthful vigor, yet you have to be careful not to step on his tail," Gisele said.
"Who is he?"
"The Chief of the Chinese Royal Guards, someone ranked on the Tian Ranking; one of the top three Summoners in the world!" Gisele informed him.
Jack gaped. He was starting to feel a wave of terror rising when he was distracted by some noise behind him.
Jack and Gisele turned around and realized the shop owner had smashed some rare magic ores on the table in a panic.
Hubert quickly tidied up the mess, just so other people would not see how dispirited he was. After he was done, he drew a cross on his c.h.e.s.t.
Oh Lord, luckily he had made a wise decision. Otherwise, he would have found himself in great trouble!
---
After leaving the marketplace, Jiang Yu caught up to Pang Lai and smiled, "Teacher, you were so cool there! You managed to overwhelm them without using your identity, and you only told them your name right at the end! You didn't even bother abusing your reputation!"
"The people of the Sacred Hall of Liberty have always been full of themselves. I always find them annoying, and I happened to stumble into one today. The fact that I didn't teach that Vice Elder a lesson is because my temper has improved a lot due to my age!" Pang Lai seemed like a righteous Taoist, yet he also had a wild temper.
Mo Fan enjoyed watching it too. The old woman had really walked right into the line of fire, thinking that she could secure the item because of her position...
Who was Pang Lai? Even though the Royal Guards of China was not as reputable as the Parthenon Temple, those who were familiar with it knew it consisted of a bunch of extremely powerful Mages who had devoted their whole lives to becoming stronger, and who rarely pursued fame or gain. If the Royal Guards and the Sacred Hall of Liberty ended up in a fight, the odds were fairly even!
On the other hand, Gisele was just a Vice Elder, but Pang Lai was the Chief of the Royal Guards. Even the President of the Sacred Hall of Liberty would have to receive Pang Lai personally whenever he went to America. Their ranks were three levels apart!
It was even worse in terms of strength. Pang Lai could easily defeat Gisele with his tertiary or quaternary Elements!
---
"Advisor Pang Lai, thank you for your help and generosity," Mo Fan was sweet whenever he needed to be. It was necessary to be slick and sly at times. After all, Pang Lai did had done him a huge favor!
"It has nothing to do with generosity, I only said that I was paying for it just to make that old woman mad. You clearly owe me the money, since I don't make a living from robbing, either. You can transfer all the money you have. As for the remaining amount… you can settle the debt by giving me some of the rare finds you get from the treasure hunt!" Pang Lai did not follow the script at all. His image of a righteous Taoist totally crumbled in just a few sentences!
Mo Fan sighed. Didn't the powerful old men in dramas and novels always give huge gifts to the main protagonist when they were totally impressed by the protagonist's talents? Why was it totally different in his case? The old man was so fussy about it, even when it was only three hundred million!
Mo Fan did not dare say that he was not going to pay the money. He transferred the one hundred and fifty million he had to Pang Lai, and promised that he would pay the rest after the treasure hunt.
"You now have everything you need. Just follow my instructions, and it should work. Speaking of which, the soul I stole for you is insanely good, I would have bought it for Jiang Yu if it was useful for him… consider yourself lucky!" Pang Lai said.
"Teacher, we bought it, we didn't steal it!" Jiang Yu said speechlessly.
"Right, they were trying to steal it from us!" Pang Lai nodded, quickly reassuming his demeanor of a righteous Taoist.
---
---
Following Pang Lai's instructions, Mo Fan first improved his Summoning Element.
Holding the Galaxy Vein he had bought for seventy million, Mo Fan could feel his heart pounding heavily.
He was really worried that the Galaxy Vein would deflate like a balloon just as he was at the crucial step of breaking through the barrier, and he would waste the attempt. He would then have to waste a huge sum buying another Galaxy Vein.
It did not help to be nervous. Mo Fan focused and began to meditate, as he needed to acc.u.mulate the energy needed to break through the walls surrounding the Nebula.
The Galaxy Vein continued to support Mo Fan in his attempt. Mo Fan could feel himself riding a fierce tide, aiming to break through the dam in front of him!
Taking a deep breath, Mo Fan clearly remembered the great pressure he was under in his past attempts breaking through to the Advanced Level. However, even though he could feel the same resistance this time, the energy he had acc.u.mulated was quite unstoppable. It had directly broken through the barricade, allowing the Nebula to expand into a Galaxy with abundant energy instantly!
The lunar-white Galaxy looked mysterious yet elegant, with two Star Orbits connected to his two Summoned Creatures like umbilical cords.
Both the Swift Star Wolf and Little Flame Belle cried out to congratulate Mo Fan. They could tell that their master had successfully broken through the barrier, and the world of the Summoning Element had further expanded, which meant they would be able to receive more energy in the future...
"Here, Swift Star Wolf, the first mouthful of milk is for you!" Mo Fan followed Pang Lai's instructions and gave the Swift Star Wolf all the energy the Galaxy had.
Following that, Mo Fan immediately plopped down the ground to stabilize his cultivation.
---
When the Galaxy reached a stable state, Mo Fan's eyes sprang open, his eyes shining with a brilliant, lunar-white light.
"Jiang Yu's teacher is very impressive!" Mo Fan could not help but exclaim.
Mo Fan initially thought the Galaxy Vein he had bought with only seventy million was defective with insufficient energy, since most Galaxy Veins were sold for one hundred million, and some even had a price of one hundred and twenty million! It was difficult to tell the quality of a Galaxy Vein being sold at such a low price, but to his surprise, not only was the Galaxy Vein not a defective product, the energy it contained was more abundant, and better than the Galaxy Veins he had acquired from the auctions!
Old Pang Lai was sure impressive with his sharp eyes, able to pick out a great Galaxy Vein with lightning speed!
Chapter 1073 - Soul of the Highest Quality
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
The process of improving his Summoning Element to the Advanced Level was an utter success, and so smooth that it totally took Mo Fan by surprise. Mo Fan was hesitant to improve his Elements to the Advanced Level, even though he had the money, because he was afraid of failing the attempts. He felt that the Nebula of his Summoning Element was not full enough, and even if it was ready, there was still a chance that he would fail to improve it. He could not imagine losing a hundred million if he failed the attempt!
Mo Fan had completed strengthening the bones and changing the bloodline of the Swift Star Wolf. The creature was feeling pain everywhere, like a patient who had just gone through surgery. Mo Fan could see him clenching his teeth...
Evolving was an utterly painful process. After all, the creature was basically forfeiting their original body! Just the first two steps were equivalent to having all their bones broken and their blood s.u.c.k.e.d dry, but the last step of forging the soul was even worse. It involved shattering the soul and reforging it again! The pain inflicted on the soul was unbearable. It required the Summoned Beast to have a strong will!
Mo Fan believed that the Swift Star Wolf had always had a strong will to improve. The fact that he was from the Summoned Beast Plane was a clear indication that he was no weakling waiting to be dominated by some other creature. Not long after he was born, he had to do his best to survive in the wilderness through endless fights. Compared to Little Flame Belle, who had her own Contracted Space, the Swift Star Wolf's life was a lot tougher.
But there was nothing Mo Fan could do. If Mo Fan had a way to raise the Swift Star Wolf in a space where the Swift Star Wolf could have his own home, there was no reason he would have the Swift Star Wolf continue to stay in the wilds in the Summoned Beast Plane. However, the Summoning Element had its own rules, strictly forbidding a Summoned Beast from Dimensional Summoning from entering the Contracted Space... unless the Mage was strong enough to provide energy for the Summoned Beast to stay forever in their current dimension. Otherwise, once the energy ran out, the Swift Star Wolf would be called back to the wilds of the Summoned Beast Plane.
The Ancient Desolate Continent! Mo Fan had heard the name from Pang Lai. It was said that the Summoned Beast Plane consisted of nine continents, each with different species of creatures residing on them. These creatures were basically no different than demon creatures, the only difference being that they were able to establish spiritual connections with humans, allowing Summoners to summon them, and to fight at their side!
The Swift Star Wolf was from the Ancient Desolate Continent, where beast-type creatures were from. It was a barbarous land that obeyed the law of the jungle, and apparently, battles between species and their hordes were fairly common there, as if the creatures were always at war.
Mo Fan remembered, back when he first cast the Dimensional Summoning, that the Swift Star Wolf was still a Spirit Wolf. As Mo Fan's spirit was traveling over the Ancient Desolate Continent of the Summoned Beast Plane, he recalled seeing the whole place covered in the remains of creatures. Now that he thought about it, the Swift Star Wolf was most likely an orphan of some tribe, and it might be one of the main reasons why he was so eager to become stronger amid the never-ending battles in the Ancient Desolated Continent.
"Hey wolf, are you ready for it?" Mo Fan patted the Swift Star Wolf's head.
"Awooo~" The Swift Star Wolf raised his head and uttered a typical howl of a wolf, displaying his firm and unyielding spirit!
"Hahhoo~Hahhoo~" Little Flame Belle was trying her best to mimic the howl too.
"What are you up to now?" Mo Fan asked Little Flame Belle.
Little Flame Belle no longer had short limbs like she used to. She now had a waist, a pair of slim legs, and the two sprouts of flames on her head were like two little pigtails of a young teenaged girl. Mo Fan had the urge to put some clothes on her and walk down the street while holding her hand. He strongly believed that she would catch everyone's attention easily!
"HAHHOO!" Little Flame Belle was already holding two fiery pom-poms in her hands, wiggling her little waist and dancing around sincerely, as if she wanted to lend a hand to her Uncle Wolf!
"Alright, I guess you can be the cheerleader," Mo Fan placed Little Flame Belle to the side, allowing the little creature to enjoy herself.
Little Flame was doing her very best, as if her Uncle Wolf would surely going to succeed the harder she danced! The only thing she lacked was a banner displaying, I will be waiting for you at the Commander-level!
"Wolf, let's begin. Are you ready for the unbearable pain? If you really can't endure it, don't force yourself. We will have lots of chances still in the future. Once I become rich, I'll buy many Souls for you for your snacks!" Mo Fan said.
The Swift Star Wolf nodded. His energetic eyes began to focus, a stern look in them.
"Alright, here we go!" Mo Fan's thoughts were synchronized with the Swift Star Wolf's. He slowly directed the Soul he had bought toward the Swift Star Wolf.
A body could only hold one soul. When another soul entered a body, the original soul of the body would start to repel it, and the two souls would break out in a fight when the new soul was trying to take over the body!
In terms of the levels of the souls, the Swift Star Wolf's soul was only at the Warrior-level, but the soul being placed inside his body was Commander-level. It was obvious which Soul was stronger. If Mo Fan was unable to assert control over the Soul, the Swift Star Wolf's soul would be torn into pieces at any second!
The process of the soul forging was as follows: Think of the Swift Star Wolf as a little puppy, and the only way for it to grow is to beat a fierce hound. In a fair fight, the outcome is very obvious, the little puppy is going to be torn into pieces by the hound. Currently, the role that Mo Fan was playing is the person keeping the hound under control with a chain. He needed to know how tight he had to hold the chain. If he loosens it by too much, the hound would simply lunge forward, and the little puppy was dead for sure. However, if he grabbed the chain too tightly, the little puppy wouldn't learn as much from the fight!
As such, the process was also a test of the Mage's cultivation and control, since his ability to control the process would directly determine the outcome!. Failing to do so would endanger the life of his Summoned Beast...
Luckily, Mo Fan's cultivation was fairly outstanding, not because of how vast the Galaxy of his Summoning Element was, but because his Spiritual World now had six Elements! Leaving the Demon Element aside, he still had five Elements; normally, only a Forbidden Mage would have the same number!
The number of Elements Mo Fan possessed meant his mental state was much stronger than ordinary people, and the strength of his mental state was proportional to his will and his control over those Elements. If a Mage with only a single Element in the Advanced Level was doing this, they would never be able to keep the fierce hound under control, resulting in a terrible loss.
Mo Fan had basically bought the best materials he could possibly find, and he was also an experienced Summoner. It solely depended on the Swift Star Wolf's resilience!
"Speaking of which, what exactly is this Soul I got, that even the Vice Elder of the Sacred Hall of Liberty was so eager to get her hands on it? Why am I struggling to tell how outstanding it is?" Mo Fan was curious as he asserted his control over the Soul.
The Soul did not seem too different from any other Commander-level creature. On top of that, it was not even the Soul of a creature of the wolf species, meaning that the two souls might have trouble merging later in the process. However, if Pang Lai told him that the Soul was something remarkable, and was willing to pay three hundred million in advance to secure it, it must be something incredible!
The Swift Star Wolf suddenly let out a cry, and was filled with fear and the urge to give up.
Mo Fan was startled. Why did the Swift Star Wolf want to surrender so quickly? He was quite confident that he had controlled the Soul well.
Not long after, Mo Fan realized the Soul was the reason. He took a closer look at the silhouette of the creature inside it.
After a glance, even Mo Fan subconsciously took a deep breath. The Soul was nothing like one that had died. It was a vivid and enormous beast, with tails flying wildly and eyes erupting in ghastly flames. It even had white bones covering it like armor, and a pair of slightly curved horns. Even its feet would leave a ghastly trail of flame...
