Go for Broke!

His own strength was growing — but his father Mo Jiaxing and Xinxia still had no way to protect themselves.

Yu'ang was still alive. The Black Church — those ruthless, despicable dogs who would stoop to any means — wanted to force him to surrender the Earth Sacred Spring. The most direct and effective way to do that was to go after his family.

No. He couldn't sit here and wait for the slaughter. The enemy lurked in the shadows while he stood exposed in the light...

Mo Fan grabbed his phone and called Lingling right away. "Lingling, tell Old Bao I don't need protection. Have Senior Dasheng go protect my dad, Mo Jiaxing. And Lingling — please go protect my little sister, Ye Xinxia."

"But the commission is to protect you," Lingling said.

"If something happens to them, I might as well be dead," Mo Fan said.

"This..." Lingling was still hesitating when Old Bao's voice cut in from the background. "Dasheng, go. Protect Mo Fan's father. Lingling, keep an eye on his sister."

"Thank you," Mo Fan said, genuine gratitude in his voice.

"With Dasheng and Lingling both away from you, and my other disciples all out on assignment, there'll be no one guarding you — so watch yourself at every turn. If things get really bad, come hide at the Azure Sky Hunting Firm. Nobody dares stir up trouble on my turf, Old Bao's turf — not even whatever force has set its sights on you!" Old Bao said.

"I'm looking forward to meeting them," Mo Fan said, his voice cold with fury. "When I go home, I'll offer their blood as a sacrifice."

Those Black Church dogs — if they thought he was still the same Mo Fan from back then, they were dead wrong.

Back then, he truly had been too weak. So many things he could only watch helplessly as they unfolded.

When he had seen the girl who crawled out from inside the Mother Demoness at the gymnasium, something had clicked into place. So many people in Bo City had been just like that — every one of them, like that parasitized girl, fighting for nothing more than survival. Even He Yu, who had given her life for Zhang Hou — that final flicker of longing for life in her dying eyes had been enough to cut straight through the heart.

That was why he'd charged into the gymnasium. He wanted to save people. When you had the strength to save someone within your reach and chose instead to turn away, to simply ignore it, the guilt would shadow you for the rest of your life. It would make you no different from those Black Church monsters.

Maybe he still lacked Zhankong's courage — the kind that could sacrifice everything for righteousness. Maybe he wasn't selfless enough to trade his own life for a boy he'd only secretly loved, the way He Yu had. But if he had possessed his current power back then, he would not have hesitated for a single breath before blasting the Black Church to dust — and then to dust again.

These animals, who weren't even worth comparing to Demon-Beasts, had come at just the right time.

*The Earth Sacred Spring is with my father. Come and take it — if you dare.*

*Come as many as you like. Every last one of you dies.*

"Oh? Are you sure you're ready?" Dean Xiao looked at this student who seemed to have become a different person overnight, surprise evident in his voice.

"Yes. I want to begin training in the Three-Step Tower now," Mo Fan said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Mo Fan didn't know exactly what level of operative the Black Church would send against him, but Old Bao seemed to have some inside information. He had told Mo Fan that High-Level Mages were closely monitored by multiple parties, and with a powerhouse of Dean Xiao's caliber stationed at Pearl Academy, no one at the High-Level Mage tier or above could possibly slip into the academy to do harm.

The Black Church was already under tight surveillance by the Tribunal and the major factions.

But that surveillance was like a net — and while it restricted the Black Church's freedom of movement, it also meant some fish inevitably slipped through the gaps. Or they could work through layers of intermediaries to hire proxies. So neither the Tribunal nor Pearl Academy could guarantee one hundred percent that the Black Church's agents couldn't infiltrate.

As for hiding...

You could hide for a while, but not forever. Mo Fan couldn't live cut off from the world indefinitely.

And he had no intention of hiding in the first place.

"All right. I'll submit the application now — it'll take some time, so stay on campus and focus on your training for now," Dean Xiao said.

"Thank you, Dean." Mo Fan nodded. The Three-Step Tower had effects comparable to training at the Earth Sacred Spring — a significant boost to one's cultivation.

"You earned it yourself, so don't thank me. Besides, you made a tremendous contribution to the academy in the gymnasium incident. Technically we owe you a commendation — though you've already traded that away, and on top of everything, you also nearly killed someone just now..." Dean Xiao said with a smile.

"So you already know about that," Mo Fan said, scratching the back of his head with an awkward grin.

"I'll notify you once everything is arranged," Dean Xiao said.

"All right. I'll be going, then."

The moment Mo Fan left, a male teacher stepped out from the adjacent side room.

Teacher Gu Han glanced out the window at Mo Fan's retreating figure, then turned to look at Dean Xiao.

"Since we've already received word, why not simply have him go into hiding? The Black Church is capable of anything — they always find a way to deal with whoever they set their sights on. We're operating in the open, and we may not be able to control this situation." Teacher Gu Han said seriously.

"Rooting out the Black Church is everyone's responsibility, and this academy should do its part. According to intelligence from all quarters, the Black Church has suddenly gone very quiet. The Tribunal and the other factions have all failed to find any hard evidence against them. They spent over a year lying low, and now they're finally making a move. Even if their target is just one student, Mo Fan clearly has something they want — something you want as well — or they wouldn't have chosen this moment to act." Dean Xiao said, stroking his beard.

"So the Tribunal's plan is to use this opportunity — the Black Church making its move again — to draw out a significant figure from behind the scenes, and from there trace Saron's whereabouts completely?" Gu Han said.

"Exactly. Doing so may put Mo Fan in some danger, but I believe the boy has a certain capacity for self-preservation. The Black Church has been operating with impunity for years, their crimes beyond reckoning. If we still can't bring them to justice, who can say whether there will be more Bo Cities in the future?" Dean Xiao said.

The Bo City incident was already several years in the past. The general public might gradually forget — but the government, the Magic Association, the Hunters' Alliance, these human factions would never let it go. This matter had to be brought to its conclusion.

"Since we've received signals from the Tribunal, why not tell Mo Fan directly? After all, he's essentially the bait — he deserves to know," Gu Han said.

"He's a smart young man. I believe he already knows. If he were afraid, he'd have gone into hiding by now. The fact that he came to request the Three-Step Tower tells me he wants to build his strength — he wants to stand against the Black Church. That's his own decision." Dean Xiao said.

"I'm still worried. The Black Church is ruthless and unpredictable, and even the most careful precautions can have gaps. He's still just a student..."

"Choose to believe in him. He's stronger than we imagine — and smarter too." Dean Xiao said.

Shortly after Mo Fan had nearly killed someone, Dean Xiao had received a message passed along from the Tribunal. That was when he had understood why Mo Fan had gone for the kill against his attacker.

This Mo Fan — he already knew exactly how dangerous his situation was.

But he hadn't run. Even Dean Xiao couldn't help but admire the boy's nerve.

You can run for a while, but you can't run forever.

Dean Xiao believed he had made the right choice.