Finally, both our teams climbed onto the arena. Knowing what happened to their predecessors, Ming Kong and Xiao Feng didn't look great. Tense faces, slight tremors in their limbs, and pale skin. It was clear at a glance that they were very nervous, possibly afraid of embarrassing themselves. Though if I were in their place, I'd just relax—they definitely won't perform worse than their previous lineup.
Mu Ning Xue, on the other hand, looked extremely determined, and I'd even say heroic. She exuded the aura of an ancient hero about to engage in an uneven battle against a terrible foe. Slightly furrowed brows, clenched fists, and her eternal cold mask. With her appearance alone, she was swaying the audience to her side.
Lu Zhengge, meanwhile... he was just trailing behind Mu Ning Xue like a little tail with a flushed face and heavy breathing. I doubt he even cared where he was. Realizing there was no point in resisting us, he'd fully switched to admiring the object of his affections.
I hope he'll at least summon his contract beast, or I'll start worrying about his mental health and the influence of my cousin's looks on the moral decline of the young mage generation. Maybe put a bag over her head? That would avoid so many canon problems.
While I was rolling funny thoughts around in my skull, our teams finally took their positions, and the judge, as tradition dictated, gave us a bit of time to chat before the fight. When Mu Ning Xue, clenching her fists with a determined look, was about to address me—without noticing her at all—Mo Fan interrupted.
"Ning Xue, I challenge you to a duel! Let's settle our old score! Same stakes: if I lose, from today onward I become your dog, and if I win, your father apologizes to mine on his knees. Or are you chickening out?" Mo Fan bellowed loudly enough for the whole hall to hear, reciting his emotional tirade.
With the question framed like that, if my cousin refused the duel without good reason, it really would look like she was chickening out, which would shame the Imperial University. And Mu Ning Xue couldn't allow that. Nor did she want to. Judging by her eyelid twitching for a second and her emotional aura, she really wanted not just to win the bet, but to thoroughly thrash this loudmouth idiot.
"Not my dog, but my family's dog. I don't need a stinking mutt under my feet, but my father might find a Middle-Level mage useful as an errand boy." My cousin snarked in a way that was uncharacteristic for her.
Mo Fan must have really gotten under her skin, acting even worse than her usual admirers. That same Lu Zhengge just trails her like a puppy, drooling and not making a fuss. But Mo Fan was causing her real problems and messing up her plans right now.
I think the difference between them is obvious. It would be one thing if he were stronger than her—then in Mu Ning Xue's head, it might look somewhat acceptable—but if he loses to her now... I don't think he'll have much chance of winning her over in the future. At the very least, Mo Fan would have to pull off something extraordinarily impressive to wow her and get her attention again.
"Then tell your followers to step aside and let's fight!" Completely ignoring her clarification on the bet, Mo Fan called Mu Ning Xue's teammates her followers, which clearly didn't win him any favor. And with my riled-up cousin just silently nodding to them and heading to the center of the arena, it was like confirming the guy's words.
Man, he created problems for her out of nowhere. Only Mo Fan could do that. Even Lu Zhengge wiped his drool and glared at him irritably for daring to interrupt his beauty-admiration session. Mu Ning Xue didn't even pay attention to the insult aimed at her—for him, it was just a thrill. No wonder he's her top simp.
As for us girls, it was like everyone forgot about us, and we weren't against it, just enjoying the show. Why worry? Our victory was basically guaranteed; we could just savor the spectacle. I wonder how quickly my cousin will roll Mo Fan into the asphalt?
Their cultivations were roughly comparable. The guy had more elements at his disposal, and thus more magic reserves. My cousin, however, had superior combat power, thanks to her Spiritual Seeds on ice and wind. Mo Fan, as far as I knew and sensed, still hadn't acquired any Seeds.
This was mostly my fault, since I'd taken the Fire Rose from him during the joint mission with Tang Yue, and the lightning element Seed as a gift from Zhao Manyan for the fame I'd bought from defeating the Scaled Demon parasite queen. Why would this rich kid buy anything in this life when he'd earned plenty of merits himself? Now he was even prouder of them and used them to hit on chicks.
When both duelists looked at the judge, he cast a helpless glance over the other participants, got confirming nods, sighed, and finally signaled the start of the fight.
Mo Fan's first move was to cast Beginner-Level "Spatial Summon," calling his wolf. With a thud, a Fierce Wolf... at the Middle Servant rank, crashed onto the arena. Man, his late breakthrough to Middle-Level and lack of resources must have done their work; the guy just couldn't develop it properly.
Lu Zhengge looked at him with contempt but stayed silent. He didn't want to disrupt his heart's goddess's concentration. The other spectators, however, weren't so tactful, and the hall erupted in laughter, making Mo Fan turn beet red like a lobster—yet he kept constructing his next spell.
Mu Ning Xue, at that moment, finally completed her first-tier Middle-Level "Ice Prison," and three ice chains shot out toward the guy. One grazed the Fierce Wolf en route, inflicting severe injuries right away. It flew into the corner of the arena with a crash, whining loudly as if apologizing to its master for its uselessness. But the guy had bigger problems right now.
He was mid-spell construction when he realized they were coming and instantly switched elements, starting a new one. Ordinary spectators noticed nothing, but High-Level mages and above sensed the elemental tint of the mana he'd released and stood up from their seats—because until then, he'd been building a lightning spell.
That was at least interesting, considering you could only have two elements at Middle-Level. This was probably where Mo Fan would expose his dual awakening talent to the wider public. I wonder if Lu Nian could assemble a strong enough team to capture him, especially since we'd all go on the practical together, and he was the only High-Level mage in his research division. At least in canon it was like that, but I'd already learned not to rely on it completely.
At that moment, the chains formed a makeshift prison around Mo Fan and began freezing the surroundings, encasing him in an ice block—because if they'd frozen his body, the trapped guy would die instantly, which wasn't sportsmanlike. Ordinary spectators had started booing him, but those who'd sensed the fire element burst froze in anticipation of an interesting continuation.
It didn't take long: with a visible orange glow through the ice block, an explosion boomed... but it couldn't build enough power to break the ice, leaving only a few wide cracks. Well, what did he expect? In canon, with a fire Spiritual Seed, Mo Fan could compete with Mu Ning Xue, but without it now, this was the max he could do to this reinforced ice block.
When the spectators, hyped by the fire flash, started getting disappointed again, High-Level mages and above jumped up in shock—because Mo Fan, refusing to give up, used third-tier Beginner-Level "Flying Shadow" of the shadow element to slip out through the cracks in the ice block and reappear on the arena, albeit a bit battered. Apparently, the reflected shockwaves from the explosion in the confined space hadn't done his health any favors.
The stands erupted in absolute pandemonium. Four elements! That meant the guy could awaken two elements per level instead of one! An extraordinarily strong talent! In canon, Mo Fan only revealed three at this stage, and everyone thought his dual awakening was a one-off.
Even so, that talent ranked fifth on China's current talent list. Now that his true power was revealed, I couldn't say what position they'd move him to. But one thing was certain—Lu Nian would try to snag Mo Fan even if it meant selling her ass.
But let's skip the backstage intrigue, because right now Mu Ning Xue had also realized the guy's talent and, sensing all his elements, finally got serious. With that setup, she'd definitely lose a battle of endurance, so she needed to switch to tactics.
This captivating match had only just begun.