Versatile Mage

“She’s from the Blood Tribe. The tribe has a certain influence in the gray areas. These merchants are legal, and reliable. I have no clue how the businesses, society, or gatherings of upper-class people work. Liu Ru told me many times that I might find these people useful, but I’m too lazy to manage them,” Mo Fan informed her.

Liu Ru was currently an elder of the Blood Tribe. The Enforcement Union was hoping that Old Bao could keep an eye on the gray market in the Magic City. The gray market mainly consisted of eccentric people, the Blood Tribe, and some secret organizations. The Blood Tribe was mainly in charge of it, and ruled certain districts of the city by running businesses that would occasionally skirt the legal lines that the Enforcement Union had established…

Old Bao’s approach was very simple. He had trained Liu Ru to control the gray market by manipulating the leaders of the factions involved, stopping them from undertaking any evil deeds while guaranteeing their safety, so they could survive in the city.

The Enforcement Union and the government was pleased to see that the gray market was under control. Even the Holy Judgment Court would struggle to manage an existence like the Blood Tribe, which was neither demon nor human. It was inappropriate to treat them all as bad guys, too. After all, there were lots of people that had suffered the same fate as Liu Ru!

Liu Ru currently maintained the balance of two great districts in the Magic City. She had a strong influence over the people involved in the gray market. These people would play a key role in establishing a new faction or clan. Mo Fan did not think they would be any use to him, but now that he thought about it, he might be able to do Mu Ningxue a favor instead…

Considering how aggressive he usually was, it was only a matter of time before he stepped on the tail of a powerful faction. As such, without a certain background, he was doomed to live a tough life!

—

Mu Ningxue went back to sleep. It did not make sense for Mo Fan to stay in the room any longer.

Mo Fan was only discussing the future with Mu Ningxue, hoping that he could get closer to her. He definitely had lots of chances to scheme against her, let it be a lonely night, or a drunk weekend… tsk tsk tsk, the little rabbit could no longer escape from him!

Mo Fan thought about the Egyptian team as he was walking down the streets.

It was not pure luck that the Egyptian team had defeated both the Greek team and the English team. Their Undead Element was incredibly powerful, allowing them to keep Summoning undead to fight for them.

Mo Fan was slightly confused. How did the Egyptian team become so strong all of a sudden? Weren’t their undead fairly useless when they were up against stronger opponents? Why was their team suddenly unbeatable?

“Mo Fan!” a pleasant voice called out from the alleyway nearby while he was still preoccupied with his thoughts. He turned at the voice and saw a woman with a black veil standing there. The shadows were hiding her alluring physique. Most people would only see a blurred figure in the alleyway, and not be able to tell it was a woman.

Mo Fan looked at the woman and chuckled, “How much for a night, pretty girl?”

“How much are you willing to pay?” Asha’ruiya asked in return.

“You’re so pretty, I’m willing to go bankrupt just to sleep with you,” Mo Fan said.

“Pervert!” Asha’ruiya glared at Mo Fan.

“What is it this time? Why do I feel like you’ve been seeing me a lot lately? I do admit that I’m very charming, like an addictive poison that many women are struggling to control themselves from taking, but I believe as a Candidate, your self-control should be a lot better than ordinary women,” Mo Fan shot back.

“I’m flying back to Greece tomorrow morning. A person happened to cross my mind, so I’ve come to ask you about her,” Asha’ruiya pointed at a dimly-lit inn nearby, signaling Mo Fan to continue the conversation there.

“Leaving already? We should really cherish our time tonight, and have a few…”

“What were you saying!?”

“A few sincere conversations. I believe we should be more sincere to one another, and less setting one another up.”

Asha’ruiya was too lazy to argue with his filthy mouth. She went straight to the inn.

She seemed to be familiar with the place. She ordered a fruit wine for herself while Mo Fan ordered a bottle of Sprite, before asking with a confused expression, “So you want to ask about Mu Ningxue? The bow that defeated you?”

“The bow that defeated me? Since when did I lose to it?” Asha’ruiya asked in return.

“You conceded; doesn’t that mean you’ve lost?” Mo Fan said.

“It’s hard to say who was going to win in the end, but I did feel that I shouldn’t be using that power in a tournament, which is why I chose to forfeit in the end. Besides, why are you so confident that I’m asking about Mu Ningxue?” Asha’ruiya said.

“Isn’t that the case?” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan already knew the answer when he saw the look on Asha’ruiya’s face. He asked curiously, “Then who do you want to ask me about?”

“The woman who’s also a Candidate at the Parthenon Temple, just like me? Judging from your words today, she must be your second wife, then?” Asha’ruiya said.

“You must be referring to Xinxia! Oh, I almost forgot that you two are colleagues,” Mo Fan said.

“Colleagues? Don’t you have a better word than that?” Asha’ruiya rolled her eyes.

“Why are you asking about her?” Mo Fan said.

“Nothing really, just want to have a casual chat with you about her. I’m actually quite curious about her, and you too; I didn’t think you two are step-siblings,” Asha’ruiya said.

“She was actually adopted into the family as a future daughter-in-law.” Asha’ruiya’s tone sounded strange to Mo Fan.

“Okay, tell me about your past. I’m pretty intrigued; my adoptive father used to tell me lots of stories about his childhood friends when I was young,” Asha’ruiya said.

Mo Fan was even more confused, but he did not mind telling Asha’ruiya since she was so interested in it, and it was not like it was anything confidential. Besides, Asha’ruiya could easily investigate their background if she wanted. Mo Fan simply thought of it as a casual chat, so he started telling Asha’ruiya about Bo City.

Asha’ruiya listened as Mo Fan talked. She seemed quite serious.

It did not take long until Asha’ruiya suddenly interrupted, “You weren’t living together?”

“We barely live together. Both my father and I are men, so it’s inconvenient for us to take care of her. She was studying at a girls’ junior high school, close to my aunt’s place, so she was living at my aunt’s house instead. As for senior high school, I was staying at the dorms so I could learn magic better. I think we met once every week, we usually stayed in contact by phone…”

“I didn’t think you were a self-made genius. Aren’t you proud of yourself, considering how you’ve come from a little city to a big stage that the whole world was watching in Venice?” Asha’ruiya exclaimed.

“Since when are you a post-game reporter now?” Mo Fan was left speechless. However, Mo Fan assumed Asha’ruiya was just trying to find a topic to talk to him. He said, “I’ve told you many things, so tell me about yourself instead; the noble, highly-respected, and glamorous Candidate for the role of the Goddess, Asha’ruiya!”

Asha’ruiya was well aware of Mo Fan’s mocking tone, but she did not seem too bothered by it. She said casually, “There’s really nothing special about me. I’m just an orphan that was adopted by an amazing person. He gave me my name, and my noble status. Even after he passed away, I’m still respected like a princess in the kingdom that he established.”

“And who was this person?” Mo Fan inquired.

“Holy Saint Wen Tai, the most brilliant Great Muse that the Parthenon Temple ever had in the last few hundred years,” Asha’ruiya said.

“Oh, it’s him!” Mo Fan recognized the name.

Mo Fan had actually heard the name Wen Tai before, but the man was somewhat contradictory. The contributions he made to the world were worthy enough to be recorded in history, and the people greatly respected him. However, Mo Fan discovered that most of his information was not disclosed to the public. He could not even find how the man had died, as if the news was completely sealed off.

“Isn’t his name quite sensitive?” Mo Fan said.

“Yeah, his name is well known across the world, and he’s one of the main reasons that the Parthenon Temple is where it is at today. Unfortunately, he’s still no match for jealousy!” Asha’ruiya finished her fruit wine in a single gulp.

“What happened? Was he set up by someone?” Mo Fan asked curiously.

Asha’ruiya shook her head.

“If it wasn’t set-up, why do you still grieve for him? It’s fine if the old man passed away because of his age,” Mo Fan said.

“He was executed!” Asha’ruiya’s gaze sharpened.

Mo Fan’s jaw dropped. He could not find any words.

“Why is my past so relaxing and pleasant to talk about, and yours is so gloomy and serious? Let’s not talk about the past, I have something to ask you too,” Mo Fan decisively changed the topic. He did not ask about Holy Saint Wen Tai any further.

“What do you want to ask?” Asha’ruiya soon collected her thoughts. She was not immersed in the sorrow of the past.

“Parthenon, how strong is it?” Mo Fan asked.

Asha’ruiya was stunned. She did not expect that question from Mo Fan.

“Why are you asking that?”

“I’m just curious. An organization with the strongest influence in the world, I’m just wondering how strong it can be,” Mo Fan said.

“The Sacred Mountain of Parthenon is divided into four halls. The Hall of the Goddess, the Hall of Knights, the Hall of Faith, and the Hall of Judgment. The Hall of the Goddess is the leader among the halls, and the Hall of Knights is the armed force of the Hall of the Goddess. The Hall of Faith is open to all believers, and the Hall of Judgment is responsible for setting up rules, and delivering punishment.

“The Hall of the Goddess is located on the tallest mountain, followed by the Hall of the Knights, and the Hall of Judgment, with the Hall of Faith closest to the foothill. The Mages that are appointed as personnel are at least Intermediate Mages. The number of Mages depends on the number of visitors that have come to be blessed. If there’s a festival, its scale would be comparable to an army of ten thousand Intermediate Mages.”

Asha’ruiya giggled and said, “Therefore, if we’re both at the Hall of Faith, you will be overrun by ten thousand Intermediate Mages as soon as I scream for help. They might even tear you to pieces. They aren’t paid like soldiers, since it’s actually part of their beliefs, so their firepower is only going to be stronger than a troop of Battlemages!”

Mo Fan twisted his lips and asked, “How about the Hall of Judgment?”

“The Hall of Judgment consists of Adjudicators, a thousand of them in total, and they are all in the Advanced Level or above.”