Versatile Mage

The team reached the Mountain of the Goddess, but the Hall of Knights did not let them enter the area of the Hall of the Goddess. Only knights on patrol and the members of the Hall of the Goddess were allowed to enter the Hall of the Goddess. No one else was permitted to go inside. The men on the team were fairly disappointed. They were thinking about seeing long dresses swaying inside the luxurious hall…

“This is Sir Haylon,” Feng Li introduced a man.

Haylon was wearing purple-golden armor, in an ancient Greek style. He stood at the top of the stairs in an imposing manner.

All knights save those on duty were present at the square in front of the Hall of Knights. They strictly followed the orders given and lined up in a triangular formation.

Haylon was briefing the knights. He did not pay any attention to the members of the Chinese team.

The knights had different ranks: Blue-Star Knights, Silver-Moon Knights, Golden-Sun Knights, and Purple-Galaxy Knights.

The Purple-Galaxy Knights were the Hall Masters. The Hall of Knights had a Hall Master and three Vice Hall Masters. The rest of the knights were made up of Golden-Sun Knights, Silver-Moon Knights, and Blue-Star Knights.

Hall Master Haylon was speaking in Greek, so the team had no idea what he was saying. They had no choice but to stand to the side patiently. Haylon’s aura was imposing, and his tone was heavy. Not only did the knights not dare to make a single sound, even the Chinese team had to lower their voices significantly.

“This Haylon must be the strongest Mage on the sacred mountain?” Mo Fan half-whispered.

“More or less. The previous Hall Master was a Forbidden Mage, but he retired, and Haylon is his successor. I believe he has a chance of becoming a Forbidden Mage,” Pang Lai confirmed.

“Teacher, who would win if you were to fight Haylon now?” Jiang Yu could not help but ask.

Pang Lai was one of the strongest Mages in China, and Haylon was one of the strongest Mages in Greece. As such, Mo Fan was interested in knowing the answer too.

“Without the Blessings of the Hall of Knights, I guess the odds are four to six. Four for me, six for him, but with the Blessings, the chance of me winning is less than a tenth,” Pang Lai calculated.

“…he’s that strong!?” Jiang Yu exclaimed.

In Jiang Yu’s eyes, his master Pang Lai was the strongest Mage he knew of. Only a few Maged in the world were comparable to him, yet this square-faced Haylon was stronger than his master?

Haylon finished his speech. He cast a side glance at the Chinese team that had been waiting for some time.

Feng Li went up to the man and said, “Sir Haylon, we are the national team of China. We are here to receive the Blessing of the God’s Seal from the Hall Mother.”

Haylon did not even look at Feng Li. He glanced at Pang Lai and said with a disdainful grin, “You still have the guts to come?”

“Why couldn’t I? I am the chief advisor of the national team, and my students have defeated the Greek team too. It’s a great honor for us,” Pang Lai retorted without mercy.

Haylon harrumphed coldly. He turned around, flinging his cloak, which was embroidered with flashy diamonds, and headed for the hall.

“Haylon, we are here to receive the Blessing of the God’s Seal, yet you’ve left us on the side for so long, and now are about to leave without saying anything. What does that even mean?” Pang Lai inquired.

“Do you seriously think I, a Hall Master, am in charge of such lowly matters?” Haylon answered, and continued on his way.

Not long after, a Golden-Sun Knight came over and introduced himself with a stiff expression.

“I am Haziel. I will bring you to the place,” the Golden-Sun Knight said.

Pang Lai was the chief of the Chinese Royal Guards. In terms of ranks, his role was actually equivalent to the Hall Mother of the Parthenon Temple. Haylon, the Hall Master of the Hall of Knights, was actually a level lower. However, it was quite obvious that Haylon had no respect for Pang Lai. Not only was he unwilling to receive the Chinese team, he even summoned a Golden-Sun Knight to receive them instead of a Vice Hall Master.

Although the Golden-Sun Knight was a Super Mage, his rank was still a few levels lower than Pang Lai’s, let alone the difference between their strength. They were both Super Mages, but Pang Lai already had four of his Elements at the Super Level, but the Golden-Sun Knight only had two Elements in the Super Level at most.

“Aren’t they overdoing it?” Feng Li frowned. He was not happy with how arrogant the people of the Parthenon Temple were.

The Parthenon Temple’s influence might surpass that of the Magic Associations of the Five Continents, but it was still an independent organization. To think how stuck-up they were…

“They have always been like this. They even do the same thing to the people of the Sacred Hall of Liberty and Saint Paul Church. Besides, I once beat the crap out of Haylon when he was younger, so it’s understandable that he doesn’t like me,” Pang Lai chuckled.

“Mister, I don’t think it’s inappropriate to defame our Hall Master,” the Golden-Sun Knight Haziel interjected. The man was quite young. He had achieved the Super Level in his thirties. He sure had a bright future ahead.

However, such talent was rather common in the Parthenon Temple.

“Defame? HAHAHA, young man, I dare you to ask your Hall Master Haylon if he once lost to me! You can also check the records of the Magic Association to verify my claim!” Pang Lai burst out laughing.

“May I ask for your name?” the Golden-Sun Knight said.

“Chinese Royal Guard, Pang Lai!”

“Oh, oh… so you’re Pang Lai!” The Golden-Sun Knight now recalled the rumors that the Hall Master Haylon did lose to someone in a duel when he was younger. It explained why the Hall Master was in such a bad temper.

However, the duel took place when the two were still young. It was like an adult MMA fighter mentioning the fight he once lost against a kid from the next class. The Golden-Sun Knight was clearly trying to defend the Hall Master. He added, “But I bet you don’t dare to challenge him to a duel now, am I right?”

“If I was to fight him, a huge chunk of your citadel would be razed to the ground,” Pang Lai replied indifferently.

“Our citadel has the best evacuation procedures. If a battle between Super Mages does take place, we can escort the people to the safe zones and the bunkers underground in the shortest time possible. There won’t be any casualties,” the Golden-Sun Knight Haziel declared.

“HAHAHA! Sure, go ahead and challenge your Hall Master on behalf of me, and see if he dares accept it,” Pang Lai responded.

The Golden-Sun Knight immediately shut his mouth.

The Magic Association had strictly forbidden any Super Mages from dueling one another. As such, Mages were only allowed to challenge one another to a duel before the Super Level.

Haylon had lost to Pang Lai before the Super Level, meaning that he could not get revenge for the rest of his life. The Hall of Knights also strictly forbade the knights from accepting any challenges, apart from protecting the people of the Hall of the Goddess.

—

The Golden-Sun Knight arranged the team a place to stay in the Hall of Knights, and told them they were not allowed to go anywhere on their own.

“When will the Hall Mother give them the Blessing of the God’s Seal?” Feng Li asked.

“The Hall Mother has been busy lately. You will have to be patient. I don’t have an exact time for you yet,” Haziel said.

Haziel did not leave the place. He waited on standby at the entrance, preventing anyone from leaving.

The team was intrigued at first, but bored quickly.

They were not allowed to visit other places, or walk around. It was no different than being placed on a house arrest. They initially thought they could enjoy the spectacular scenery of the Mountain of the Goddess and see the gorgeous women of the Hall of the Goddess, yet it felt like they had been imprisoned instead.

—

Two days later, Pang Lai was starting to feel impatient after not receiving any news from the Hall Mother.

He was a busy man. He did not have the time to waste just waiting here with the team!

A Vice Hall Master named Cass finally came when Pang Lai lost his temper, saying that he would pay the Hall Mother visit at once.

—

That night, Mo Fan went to the garden at the back of the place the team was arranged to stay at.

They were allowed to move around in the garden. Mo Fan moved to the edge and glanced at the other side of the mountain that was covered in flowers.

Some time later, Mo Fan noticed a slim figure pushing her wheelchair as she approached Mo Fan.

The garden that Mo Fan was staying at was very close to the flowery mountain Xinxia was staying at. Mo Fan could easily reach it with a leap, but he knew that the place was enclosed by a Formation. The boundary between the Hall of Knights and the Hall of the Goddess was impassable!

“Seriously, trying to see you in person is like carrying on a clandestine love affair in the royal palace during ancient times. There are so many rules here!” Mo Fan grumbled.

However, he was immediately in a better mood after seeing Xinxia. For some reason, Mo Fan felt that Xinxia had grown skinnier. Her previously chubby face had lost its shine.

“It’s because the election is still going on. Brother Mo Fan, I will ask to leave this place after the election comes to an end,” Xinxia told him.

“You’re leaving?” Mo Fan was astounded.

Xinxia initially planned to join the Hall of the Goddess so she could learn the best Healing Magic and Blessing Spells. She was extremely kind, and was willing to visit places to aid people. Mo Fan thought she would want to stay here for a longer time.

“Mmm, I prefer going back to our country. There are lots of things I can do there too,” Xinxia said.

“Right, you’ve learned quite a lot here. It’s better to go back, considering how many restrictions there are here. We can stay together and do as many shameless acts as we please!,” Mo Fan agreed readily.

“I have to go. Otherwise, the Golden-Sun Knight who’s in charge of my safety is going to find out what we’re doing. I only told him I came here for a walk, and that I wouldn’t leave the Hall of the Goddess in order to stop him from following. I am not allowed to see any outsiders during this period,” Xinxia said.

“It’s not like the election has anything to do with you. Forget it, it won’t be long anyway. Let’s go back to the Magic City after it all comes to an end,” Mo Fan sighed.

Mo Fan did not continue the topic.

As he was about to leave, a Silver-Moon Knight rushed over to him. He saw Xinxia leaving and immediately recognized her as the Saintess in a wheelchair. He snapped furiously, “Please don’t go anywhere without permission! Otherwise, we will treat you as an enemy, and don’t you dare offend the sacred Saintesses!”

Mo Fan looked at the young Silver-Moon Knight and was suddenly lost for words. Why did he feel like the people of the Parthenon Temple were suffering from second-year middle-school syndrome?

“Is there any problem? I was just taking a stroll after dinner. I didn’t cross the boundary,” Mo Fan was lazy to waste his time on the Silver-Moon Knight. It was clearly a waste of time to be reasonable with these people.

These knights had been brainwashed by the idea of superiority and inferiority, just like ancient times. It was very uncommon in modern society. That being said, the ideas that the Parthenon Temple was promoting were none of his business.