Bro Fan, Where's Your Integrity?
Mu Ningxue's brow furrowed at the words.
"My adopted son Yuang is about your age. He'll be your opponent," said Mu Zhuoyun.
"But—" Mu Ningxue tried to say something more.
Mu Zhuoyun gave her no opening. He turned to Deng Kai instead. "Deng Kai, I know you like to look out for the younger generation — but you heard how this brat spoke to me. I've already made a concession: I'll have him fight my adopted son Yuang. If he loses, this brat will kowtow to me until I'm satisfied. If he wins, I'll acknowledge I was in the wrong. That old business three years ago? I, Zhuoyun, never gave it another thought."
Mu Bai and Mu He both broke into smiles at the same moment.
*Yuang. Send Yuang.*
Mu Zhuoyun's cunning had seen through it — he had correctly read Mu Ningxue's sudden intervention for what it was: an attempt to get the boy off the hook.
There was no way Mu Zhuoyun would let Mo Fan off lightly. Even if Mu Ningxue was determined to defuse things, he could never swallow this humiliation.
Yuang was the Mu Clan's most notorious cultivation fanatic — the kind of person whose name alone was enough to make people's skin crawl. If Yuang stepped in, Mo Fan would be completely and utterly destroyed.
"The Magic Association's regulations state that both parties in a magical duel must be at least eighteen years of age," Deng Kai said with measured gravity. "Therefore, I, Deng Kai, will serve as the official witness. Mo Fan and Yuang will hold their magical duel on the day Mo Fan turns eighteen."
Mu Zhuoyun let out a cold snort — which served as his agreement.
Mo Fan gave a nod. "Fighting a girl — I'd still feel a bit awkward about that. A guy works better. I'll beat him so badly his own father won't recognize him."
Hearing Mo Fan still running his mouth, Mu Zhuoyun's mustache quivered with rage.
*Just you wait. That duel at eighteen — I'll see to it personally that you lose every last shred of dignity.*
The Magic Association, the Hunters' Alliance, and the magic schools all protected young Mage students unconditionally. But once a Mage turned eighteen, they became an adult fully accountable for their own actions.
For now, there was no need for Mu Zhuoyun to stoop to a sixteen-year-old's level. Two more years, and the boy would be of age. Then he could make the little wretch suffer through hell itself.
Mu Zhuoyun stormed off in a fury, the principal and the other school officials trailing close behind.
As Mu Ningxue turned to leave, she cast one long, weighted look at Mo Fan — as if she wanted to say something but couldn't find the words.
Mo Fan knew she had tried to help him.
Had she been the one to settle the matter, the outcome would have been far gentler. Someone at Mu Zhuoyun's level, once he truly moved against Mo Fan, could bring devastation down on both Mo Fan and his family.
Unfortunately, her father had seen straight through her.
Mu Zhuoyun knew Mu Ningxue would hold back. So he had simply replaced her, sending the clan's most feared cultivation fanatic, Mu Yuang, to deal with Mo Fan instead. Mu Yuang obeyed Mu Zhuoyun's every order without exception — if Mu Zhuoyun told him to kill Mo Fan outright, Yuang wouldn't hesitate for a single moment.
Mu Zhuoyun had no reason to show mercy to a little wretch who had dared curse him to his face. Let the boy enjoy his remaining two years at school. The moment he graduated, there would be hell to pay. Anyone who made an enemy of the Mu Clan had a death wish.
The storm finally passed.
The entire class stared at Mo Fan — who had transformed from an also-ran into a school legend in the space of a single afternoon — and thought back to everything they had just witnessed. No one quite knew what to say.
The guy had completely lost his mind.
Going up against the Mu Clan? One of the great magic families — a major clan — any one of their members could flatten an entire Tianlan Magic High School without breaking a sweat.
The most obvious proof: Mu Bai, Tianlan's absolute top student, was nothing more than a low-ranked branch family member within the clan itself.
Sure, Mo Fan's performance today had left everyone stunned — but that didn't mean he had the standing to pick a fight with a colossus like the Mu Clan.
What a shame. He'd had a chance to leap through the dragon's gate, and just like that, it might as well be ruined.
Everyone knew the Mu Clan was the greatest power in Bo City. Make an enemy of them, and there was no future for you in Bo City at all.
At school, the sacred grounds offered some protection. But once you stepped out into the real world, you'd be crushed beyond recognition.
Such recklessness. Why go so far? An opportunity so many could only dream of — thrown away just like that, and a fearsome enemy made in the process.
"Bro Fan, that was *way* too cool!" Zhang Xiaohou was normally on the shy side, but his admiration for Mo Fan had completely overtaken him. "Everyone else is scared half to death of Old Man Zhuoyun, but you've called him an old bastard to his face more than once! Ha! Honestly, a lot of us have been calling him that in our heads for years."
Mo Fan had once been the undisputed king of the neighborhood — every kid in the area had rallied behind him with a single word. Zhao Kunsan himself had once run with Mo Fan's crew, but after the incident three years ago, Zhao Kunsan had thrown in with Mu Bai, and many others had quietly drifted away as well.
Zhang Xiaohou was Mo Fan's most loyal follower. Whatever outrageous thing Mo Fan did, he was always the first to cheer with both hands raised.
He had known about what happened three years ago. Watching Mo Fan strike back now with such fearlessness only deepened his admiration. *I could never have that kind of guts. Not in this lifetime.*
"So tell me," Mo Fan said, raising an eyebrow with insufferable self-satisfaction, "do you think Mu Ningxue was swept off her feet by me?"
"Uh... hard to say. The old bastard is still her dad," Zhang Xiaohou replied.
"Today's been a great day." Mo Fan draped an arm over Zhang Xiaohou's shoulders and strolled toward the cafeteria, brimming with contentment. "I'm treating myself to an extra fried egg."
"Ha! If you'd seen Mu Bai and Zhao Kunsan's faces just now, you'd feel even better," Zhang Xiaohou said, finally letting out a breath he'd been holding for years.
That sycophant Zhao Kunsan — his face had been metaphorically slapped raw. He never could have imagined in his wildest dreams that Mo Fan's cultivation was a whole tier above his.
And Mu Bai — nothing more needed to be said. Always strutting around like he owned the universe, and what came of it? He got taken down by the brilliant and magnificent Bro Fan.
But that wasn't even the best part. Mu Bai had been practically groveling before Mu He, crawling to him like a dutiful son, all in hopes that Mu He would get him into the clan's inner circle to cultivate alongside the core disciples.
And then the old bastard barely spared Mu Bai a glance — and instead set his sights on Mo Fan. The most jaw-dropping moment of all was watching Mo Fan take the very thing Mu Bai had dreamed of his entire life and throw it away like trash, slapping the old bastard across the face in the same stroke. Satisfying. Deeply, completely satisfying.
Honestly, who could understand what that old bastard Mu Zhuoyun was thinking? Three years ago he should have gotten a thorough taste of Mo Fan's tongue and temper. And yet today he had the audacity to think he could bury the hatchet and bring Mo Fan into his fold — only to have Mo Fan tear into him without a shred of hesitation.
Mu Zhuoyun's blood pressure must have hit record highs today.
"But, Bro Fan," Zhang Xiaohou ventured meekly, "if the old bastard had actually offered to send the little princess to you with a full dowry, begging you to join the clan — would you have really said no?"
"Of course I'd say yes!"
"What the — Bro Fan, where's your integrity?!"
"Hm, you know, that's actually a fair point," Mo Fan said, pausing to stroke his chin in genuine contemplation.
"You're admitting you have no integrity?"
"Get out of here. What I mean is — what's the point of the old bastard apologizing? He should just pack up Mu Ningxue with a full dowry and hand her over to me!"