Chapter 182: Banter between old acquaintances
He had only taken a few steps when he was surprised at noticing a few familiar faces.
“Mo Fan, HAHAHA, I was going to say, there’s no way you weren’t on the list! Don’t you forget about the promise between us!” Zhao Manyan was the first to come up to him. His golden hair was perfectly combed!
“Impressive, you actually managed to secure a spot,” Mo Fan patted Zhao Manyan on the shoulder and exclaimed in surprise.
“What is there to be impressed about? He simply relied on the money of his family to secure the votes. He’s no different than a substitute who has joined through the back-door like you,” a voice from among the crowd exclaimed with a strong hint of jealousy.
“There are many people in the team, but only between five to seven of us will be participating in the competition. It’s fine that the extra spots are given to some rich asses. After all, we are supposed to get the best treatment since we are representing the national team in the tournament,” said a woman with a beauty mark near her lips.
Zhao Manyan felt extremely awkward upon hearing the words.
The truth was, he did manage to secure the spot through the financial support of his Zhao Family. The five advisors were clearly aware of it, too. In terms of strength and talents, Zhao Manyan was still a fair distance away from the others who were selected through the standard procedure.
“He’s fairly good-looking, maybe some of the Councilmen have some special interest, HAHAHA...” said a muscular man with a rough appearance.
The man was almost two meters tall. His muscles were about to burst his clothes open. He was like a beast with a human figure. Mo Fan wondered what Elements the man had.
“Brother, it looks like you aren’t too welcome here,” Mo Fan glanced at the three who commented.
The ones that uttered the remarks were a man with a powerful background, the woman with the beauty mark, and the beast-like man.
The others were not too bothered, as it was exactly what the woman with the beauty mark had mentioned. Only between five and seven people would participate in the tournament, but the team that was to go on training consisted of more than ten people. It was expected that someone had joined the team through some other methods.
Zhao Manyan had already made it clear. He was not planning to secure the spot through the school.
However, none of it mattered much to Mo Fan, as long as he was in the team.
The two did not come to earn glory for their country. Their goal was to spread their seeds across the world!
“Considering how handsome and rich I am, it’s normal for people to be jealous. I’m quite used to it already,” Zhao Manyan let out a self-mocking chuckle. Seeing that Mo Fan was didn’t care, he simply ignored the comments from the others.
The two joined the team with arms around each other’s shoulders. However, Mo Fan was surprised when he saw a man and a woman with stern expressions in the team.
The man was not much of a surprise. He was Ai Tutu’s brother, Ai Jiangtu, a Space Element expert. Mo Fan already knew he was a seeded candidate of the national team, and he would be appointed the captaincy after Mo Fan didn't claim it for himself. "Low profile is always better"
However, Mo Fan was quite surprised to see the woman. He had met her before too, as she was none other than the female Commander he bumped into at the top of the mountain in the Burning Valley, Nanyu!
Nanyu had the same clean, short hair. Her handsome appearance made it easy for people to mistake her gender. It was not because her appearance was leaning towards the masculine, but her stern and imperious aura completely covered up her charm as a woman. Despite that, instead of making her less appealing, it only gave men a stronger urge to pry open her heart.
“It’s been a while,” Mo Fan smiled and greeted Nanyu.
Nanyu simply glanced at Mo Fan without any expression.
On the other hand, Ai Jiangtu nodded at Mo Fan as a way of welcoming him to the team.
Mu Tingying was cowed by his sharp gaze, not daring to talk against Mo Fan. Her cultivation was only at the peak of the Intermediate level, still far from Advanced, while the other party was already an Advanced Mage with multiple elements awakened.
Aside from these eight, there were two unfamiliar faces, a dark skinned, strong looking man and a seductive, foxy woman.
The former had a strong military aura, similar to Nan Jue’s type, resolute, manly, straightforward. The latter wore revealing clothing: a tank top and shorts barely covering her hips, exposing large areas of smooth, milky white skin.
Mo Fan didn’t need Instructor Feng Li to introduce them. From their appearances alone, he instantly matched them to memories in his mind.
Ai Jiangtu and Jiang Shaoxu, from the Northern Military Zone and the Central Military Zone respectively, both had powerful military backgrounds in their families.
At this moment, Ai Jiangtu smiled at him kindly and said warmly, “I’ve heard my little sister talk about you. Your name precedes you.”
“Hello,” Mo Fan nodded. His sister was none other than that baby faced tease, Ai Tutu, who had long been sharing an apartment with them at the Jinyuan Complex.
Ai Jiangtu’s cultivation was also the highest among them. He served as the acting national team vice captain before Mo Fan returned to the team, handling related responsibilities.
Currently, he possessed both Curse and Space Elements at the Advanced level, with peak level Tier Four Spiritual Strength, masterfully commanding Advanced Spells. He could restrain a Commander level creature alone, proving that his strength was worthy of being called the strongest among the official members.
However, Mo Fan was not inferior to him.
Mo Fan was already an Advanced Mage, and because of his double innate awakening, he possessed six elements at this level: Fire, Lightning, Summoning, Shadow, Space, and Light. His Fire Element had already reached High Tier Level 2, his Lightning Element had reached High Tier Level 1 with powerful spirit seed amplification, and his Summoning Element had also reached High Tier Level 1. His Shadow Element was at Intermediate Level 3, his Light Element was at Basic Level 3, and his Space Element had already reached Level 3 mental strength.
More importantly, Mo Fan’s combat style was not like that of an ordinary mage. Ordinary Advanced Mages still needed around eight seconds to complete a star constellation, but Mo Fan, through repeated battles, compressed spell practice, and brutal combat instinct, could cast in roughly three seconds. His magic was aggressive, direct, and efficient, designed to kill rather than merely suppress.
With Little Flame Belle, Little Lightning Belle, and the Snow Frost Star Wolf by his side, his true battle strength far surpassed what his surface cultivation showed. Little Flame Belle could merge with him and strengthen his Fire magic with calamity flames, while Little Lightning Belle’s newborn calamity lightning gave his Lightning Element an even more destructive edge. As for Wolfie, the Snow Frost Star Wolf, he already possessed Mid Commander level pressure in the National Team setup, with an Emperor bloodline, ice element dominance, and an oppressive aura that could shock even experienced mages.
The enchanting Jiang Shaoxu, on the other hand, had none of that military aura. She was like a girl next door elder sister, occasionally radiating shocking allure. At times, she resembled a mature housewife; at others, a mischievous young girl, combining the playfulness of a sprite with the sensuality of a seductive woman.
Zhao Manyan shrugged and said, “It’s just that they have issues with how I bought my spot with money. As if they didn’t rely on their own backgrounds. Believe me, if these guys lost their family names and became regular folks with the same cultivation level, they wouldn’t even qualify to guard the National team.”
“Who’s really better than who?”
“Damn right you are.”
Mo Fan recalled the hardship of scraping together the three admission tickets, gave a thumbs up, and said.
As he spoke, he shifted his position slightly and finally caught sight of the unnoticed Mu Ningxue. He was stunned and lit up with surprise and joy as he stepped forward. “Xuexue! You’re here too?”
Just as everyone was getting to know each other, Feng Li arrived, fashionably late.
He had been observing for a while and now smiled, saying, “Looks like you all know each other. That’s great, saves us some time on team bonding.”
Mo Fan nodded. Counting him, there were thirteen people total, the same number as in the original storyline. Zu Jiming was already dead; now another person had taken that spot.
Ten official members, three substitutes, most of whom were basically filler. The only real fighters who could currently stand at the front were Ai Jiangtu, Mu Ningxue, and himself.
As for Mu Ningxue, she’d only rise to true prominence after fully unlocking her Ice Crystal Bow. Zhao Manyan, too, needed to go through real battles before converting his wealth and resources into actual strength.
“All in all, this year’s National Institute Championship is within reach. Ai Jiangtu has military strength, Mu Ningxue has terrifying potential, Zhao Manyan is a late blooming defensive monster, and I have six elements, two elemental spirits, and Wolfie. A Huaxia team like this? Ultra Champion Edition?”
Mo Fan secretly joked to himself. But in truth, with his broadened horizons, winning a championship didn’t even matter that much anymore. With his current battle strength, it was as easy as picking something out of a bag.
What he cared more about was forging connections with the true heirs of various factions, the opportunities and encounters during the journey, the rewards and fame after victory, and most importantly, the resources that could help him strengthen his elements and feed his companions.
Especially Jiang Shaoxu, not just for her own value, but because she had a brother named Jiang Shaojun, who had done deep research on Totems and had even gone missing in a forbidden zone, presumed dead.
Now that was something. Other than the original story’s memories, Mo Fan knew little about the White Tiger, Black Tortoise, and the like's of Emperor level totem beasts. When he needed to break through to the Super Tier later, he would need the right opportunity. His Fire, Lightning, Space, Shadow, Summoning, and Light Elements all required terrifying amounts of resources, and Little Flame Belle, Little Lightning Belle, and the Snow Frost Star Wolf also needed growth opportunities.
He had to plan ahead.
There was no doubt Jiang Shaojun had some relevant information.
From the front, Feng Li said, “Rest up tonight. The training begins early tomorrow morning.”
With that, the instructor dismissed the team.
With nothing else to do, Ai Jiangtu, seeing everyone idle, suggested they all go out for a meal to get more familiar with one another.
After thinking it over, everyone agreed.
That night, the group of young people entered the most bustling area of the Imperial Capital and found a laid back shop where they could sit and talk.
Mo Fan took a seat among them, just ready to relax and enjoy the moment, when an unwelcome guest showed up.
Nearby, a middle aged man named Lu Dong hesitantly approached. He didn’t come too close, but Mo Fan sensed him right away and recognized him at first glance.
“You! Get over here!”
Mo Fan furrowed his brows, stood up, and barked the order. “What do you want? Didn’t I say before if you show your face to me again, I’ll kill you?”
The sudden outburst drew curious looks from the other National Institute members, who watched with interest to see what was going on.
The shout terrified Lu Dong. He didn’t dare delay and immediately dropped to his knees, crawling a few steps forward and stammering in panic, “It wasn’t me, I swear, it was him! He forced me to do it!”
“Hm?!”
Mo Fan’s eyes turned sharp at those words, sensing something was off.