The Grand Melee (Part One)

"He... he actually came." Ai Tutu was sprawled flat on the rooftop, from where she had a clear view of both Mo Fan and the Shadow Demon-Beast he'd brought along. "Sister Mu, I really think you should reconsider recruiting him. The way he normally acts — he must be on some kind of medication to maintain that. He definitely skipped his meds today."

Mu Nujiao wasn't so quick to dismiss it. She turned the situation over and over in her mind, yet no matter how she looked at it, she couldn't make sense of Mo Fan's intentions.

The Three-Step Tower — something every student had dreamed of. What in the world could compel him to throw away his chance at it?

And there was something else. The Mo Fan she knew had always been something of a scoundrel, but she'd rarely seen him like this — this dark, this brooding. There was something about him today, a shadowy aura that seemed to curl and drift around him like smoke.

This wasn't the first time she'd felt it. When he had broken free from her Kun Grove prison, something similar had rippled through the air around him then too.

*Does he practice dark magic?* she wondered. *Or is there some dark energy artifact on him?*

Mu Nujiao watched in silence, and found herself thinking that Mo Fan was becoming more of an enigma by the day.

Mo Fan had walked to the center of the plaza's fountain pool. A ring of people encircled him, growing thicker by the second — yet still no one dared take that extra step forward.

The Shadow Demon-Beast was being held in check by the Gloom Wolf Beast, which, just like its master, showed not a trace of fear despite being surrounded by this many Mages.

Mo Fan's gaze swept the crowd. He knew that whoever had harmed Xu Zhaoting was hidden somewhere among these people — but who?

"Who wants it?" he asked, pointing at the Shadow Demon-Beast.

*Who wants it?* Everyone silently cursed — was that even a question? Every single person here wanted it.

"One more thing," Mo Fan continued. "Back in my hometown, there's a very special kind of spring water. I was planning to form a contract with this Shadow Demon-Beast, but the damn thing swallowed the bottle of spring water I had on me. If you want the Shadow Demon-Beast, it's yours — all I'm after is the spring water inside."

He said it plainly. Bluntly. No ambiguity at all.

That was precisely the point. He wanted whoever from the Black Church was lurking among these students to hear it loud and clear: *The Earth Sacred Spring is right here — in the beast now. You want it? Go fight a thousand students for it, you sons of bitches.*

"This guy... he knows what we're after."

"He's baiting us."

"So what if he is?" Fu Tianming said through gritted teeth. "Everyone's going after the Shadow Demon-Beast. If we join in, who's going to notice? We won't be exposed."

"He's right — this is our only shot. I'd rather not go back and face the Deacon empty-handed."

"Priest, say something."

The Priest stood there like a statue, his gaze fixed on Mo Fan with naked, simmering hatred.

If looks could kill, Mo Fan would have been reduced to dust long ago.

*That insufferable Mo Fan. He's deliberately trying to draw me out.*

*Fine. Let's see just how capable you are. In the chaos of a brawl like this, accidents happen — people get hurt, people die, and even the school can't always pursue it. I'll finish you in the confusion and walk away with the Earth Sacred Spring.*

"My lord, I just finished checking — the Shadow Demon-Beast's breath carries the unmistakable scent of the Earth Sacred Spring. It's definitely inside that beast. No question."

"My lord, we've also confirmed that no one from the Tribunal is in the area," said Gray One, who had disguised himself as a student. "As long as we keep the school blind, this operation will never be traced back to us."

Yu'ang gave a curt nod.

*If someone insists on dying, who am I to disappoint?*

"Don't use the Church's power yet," Yu'ang said. "Get the Shadow Demon-Beast first — we'll deal with everything else after."

As much as he despised Mo Fan, Yu'ang understood that securing the Earth Sacred Spring was what truly mattered here. With the Earth Sacred Spring in hand, he would ascend to Blue-Robed Deacon — and with that kind of power behind him, ending Mo Fan would be nothing more than a casual afterthought.

"Understood. But Blue District has no shortage of capable fighters. We may face considerable resistance."

"Hmph. Mediocre trash, all of them." A flicker of contempt crossed Yu'ang's face.

He himself would stay put. His subordinates would handle seizing the Shadow Demon-Beast.

And if every last one of them got exposed, got killed — Yu'ang wouldn't lose a moment's sleep over it.

Mo Fan swept his gaze across the crowd, knowing full well that he had no hope of picking out the Black Church members by sight alone.

Then, in one sweeping glance, his eyes landed on a vaguely familiar face.

"Bai Cangfeng! Hey, it's you." Mo Fan's face broke into the most innocent smile imaginable as he looked at Bai Cangfeng, who was already watching him with poorly concealed resentment. "I've felt terrible about hitting you with lightning during the Freshman Tournament. Please — accept this Shadow Demon-Beast as my most sincere apology."

Without another word, he ordered the Gloom Wolf Beast to drag the Shadow Demon-Beast directly over to Bai Cangfeng.

Bai Cangfeng stood rooted to the spot, mind completely blank.

*Are you out of your mind?! If you were actually sorry, you'd hand this over in private and I'd call you a brother on the spot. But throwing it at me in front of everyone? You've just made me the one everyone swarms!*

Mo Fan didn't spare the Shadow Demon-Beast a second glance. He simply had the Gloom Wolf Beast fling the tightly bound creature right at Bai Cangfeng's feet.

"Go! Go!"

"Grab it — now!"

"I'll die before I give up the Three-Step Tower! Anyone who tries to take it from me dies with me!"

The students erupted. Like starving wolves bursting out of a desert, they hurled themselves toward the Shadow Demon-Beast in a frenzied surge.

The first to strike was something of a surprise: Wang Liting, whose Bone-Eating Demon was a force to be reckoned with.

Wang Liting sent his Bone-Eating Demon spiraling overhead directly above the Shadow Demon-Beast, unleashing it on anyone bold enough to try dragging the creature away.

The Bone-Eating Demon had grown noticeably stronger. As it wheeled through the air, razor-edged feathers rained down in a dense cascade, driving deep into the ground all around the Shadow Demon-Beast.

Wang Liting held absolutely nothing back. The feathers scattered across a wide arc, cutting down over a dozen students in an instant — not one of them managed to Release even a single spell before they crumpled to the ground with screams of pain.

"You should all understand," Wang Liting announced, projecting an air of complete authority, "that a Summoned Beast is nothing like direct magic. With direct magic, you can rein in the force — you can choose not to kill. But a Bone-Eating Demon is bloodthirsty by nature, and half the time I can't even Control it once it gets going. If someone loses an eye, gets a vital organ sliced open, and dies here — don't accuse me of being cold-blooded. I'm giving fair warning right now."

The declaration knocked a significant portion of the crowd back on their heels.

Wang Liting clearly hadn't come alone. Four others immediately took up positions around him, one of them planting a firm foot on the immobilized Shadow Demon-Beast, scanning the crowd with sharp-eyed vigilance.

The warning worked. Many Mages with weak defenses quietly stepped back on their own. Students who hadn't yet learned to draw a Star Chart also chose not to press their luck, retreating hastily to a safe distance.

This contest was, in its own way, a brutal test — a test with life and death on the line.

The school had made its position perfectly clear: unless there was solid proof of deliberate, premeditated harm, all casualties sustained during the contest were the responsibility of the participants themselves. Either you withdrew and stayed safe, or you fought — and if you got hurt or killed, you had only yourself to answer to.

Every Mage here was an adult. They were expected to own their choices.

And in any case — a Mage's life had never come with any guarantees.