Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
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Mo Fan was not in a rush. The Preventive Committee had already allocated an expert to spy on Cheng Ying. All he needed to do was to improve his strength.
Being strong enough was the key to taking on the Black Vatican. Mo Fan once again realized how many extraordinary talents there were in the world after he fought Bei Jiang. Perhaps he might find himself in a dead end someday. Therefore, it was important to focus on becoming stronger, so he could handle any kind of situation when the time came!
Mo Fan went back to Guangzhou. Feng Zhoulong seemed to have something urgent to tell him.
Mo Fan initially thought Feng Zhoulong had learned some useful information from Xiao Ping after she recovered. To his surprise, Feng Zhoulong brought him to Canton Tower’s basement instead.
Mo Fan did not know there was a spacious magic lab right under the tower. Feng Zhoulong turned out to be the head of the lab. He cautiously brought Mo Fan to a room separated by white steel plates.
Mo Fan stood in front of a transparent steel glass window. He could see a scorched corpse on an operating table in the room.
“Old Feng, did you really ask me to come all the way from Fujian to show me a burned corpse? And can you stop looking at me with glittering eyes? I’m starting to feel uneasy,” Mo Fan said.
Feng Zhoulong was an easy-going person, not really a Battlemage. He was more into researching magic, similar to Dean Xiao.
“Don’t you recognize it?” Feng Zhoulong asked.
“Are you serious? Why are you expecting me to recognize something that disgusting?” Mo Fan said.
“Kid, it’s Bei Jiang’s corpse; you dragged it back here. You’re the first person to drag a corpse into the Nanguo Magic Association. Do you have any idea how many civilians you scared back then?” Feng Zhoulong snapped.
“I only brought him back to serve justice for Leng Qing and the Lingyin Enforcement Union, I didn’t ask you to keep it…” Mo Fan said.
“This Bei Jiang has something similar to you. Do you know what it is?” Feng Zhoulong hinted at him.
“Mr. Feng, I’ll be leaving if there isn’t anything else. I’m a busy man,” Mo Fan replied, rolling his eyes.
“Fine, I’ll cut straight to the main point. Bei Jiang’s Innate Talent is very similar to yours. He Awakened two Elements at the Basic Level; the Shadow Element and the Chaos Element. Most importantly, the two Elements shared the same Star Dust!” Feng Zhoulong exclaimed.
“Two Elements sharing the same Star Dust?” It was Mo Fan’s first time hearing anything like it.
Elements were not compatible with one another. Even though many Mages in the Advanced Level and the Super Level were able to combine two spells into one powerful spell with enough control, it was only possible if the Mage could cast the spells within a short period of time, while preventing their energy from clashing with one another.
The simplest example was how Mu Ningxue was using both her Wind Element and Ice Element simultaneously to summon forth a strong tornado with icicles. It was only possible due to her outstanding control. They were actually different spells that she had skillfully combined into one.
However, according to Feng Zhoulong, Bei Jiang’s Shadow Element and Chaos Element had merged into one, since they shared the same Star Dust. It was against the principles of scien… the principles of magic, or at least the basic principles that every student was taught over nine years of school. Those rules clearly stated that every Element could only have one Star Dust. It was an unamendable rule of magic!
“If he had Awakened two Elements that had merged into one, wouldn’t that make it a new Element? Like the Shadow Chaos Element?” Mo Fan had to ask.
Feng Zhoulong shook his head and explained like a knowledgeable scholar, “No, it’s definitely not a new Element. Its traits are exactly the same as the Shadow Element and the Chaos Element, even though it’s leaning more toward the Shadow Element. However, his Innate Talent has proven one thing; it’s possible to merge different Elements, resulting in unimaginable abilities! For example, the way he corrupted his targets with the dark energy, the manipulation of his shadows, the unusual behavior of his Shadow Domain… if we can prove there’s a way to merge the Elements, it might be a world-changing evolution to the Elements!”
“I’m sorry, I’m not really good at studying; I don’t really understand something that complicated,” Mo Fan admitted awkwardly.
He was utterly clueless about the history, basic principles, and experiments of magic. Otherwise, he would have known more than just understanding the questions on the high school exam.
“HAHA, don’t mind it, I was too excited with the discovery after you’ve killed Bei Jiang, it’s the start of a new domain for us! Even though we still have no clue why Bei Jiang’s two Elements merged into one, we believe we’ll learn many things if we keep heading in the same direction. Think about it! If we found a way to merge the Elements, how strong would humans be? We would no longer have to hide in the cities…” Feng Zhoulong said excitedly.
“I understand, but unfortunately, it’s not my area of expertise. I’ll leave the future of mankind in your hands. Now, if there isn’t anything else, please excuse me!” Mo Fan said.
“Why are you in a rush? I didn’t say I was going to conduct experiments on your Double Innate Elements. The Research Union of the Magic Association’s main headquarters did propose treating you as a test subject, to see if we can duplicate your Double Innate Elements, but that proposal has long been rejected. Innate Talents are like the unique traits of a person. It had long been proven that it’s impossible to duplicate Innate Talents…” Feng Zhoulong added.
Mo Fan rolled his eyes. He only realized how much of a nerd Feng Zhoulong was now, despite his appearance. Whenever the topic was about something technical, he could do all the questioning and answering passionately, all by himself!
“I really have to go if there isn’t anything else!” Mo Fan emphasized.
“Mm, go ahead,” Feng Zhoulong nodded. He suddenly acted indifferently.
There was no reason for Mo Fan to stay any longer. He would have asked Feng Zhoulong to compensate him for the flight ticket if it wasn’t for the fact that the man was the head of the Research Union of the Nanguo Magic Association.
Mo Fan had just turned around when Feng Zhoulong said casually, “Feel free to leave if you aren’t interested in obtaining Bei Jiang’s power of the Shadow Element. There are lots of Shadow Mages in our Nanguo Magic Association that are begging us to give them a chance. (Sigh) Such a pity, I was considering giving it to you since you were the one that defeated him. I didn’t think you would have no interest in it. I guess someone like you who’s the strongest participant in the World College Tournament isn’t too fussy about it.”
Mo Fan’s hand froze on the button to open the sliding door. The hint of dislike on his face was gradually replaced with joy and excitement!
“AH, I suddenly realized I’m not really in a rush to go back! Brother Feng, what do you want for dinner? My treat! As a junior, I never had the chance to pay my respects. I apologize for that,” Mo Fan turned around with a smile.
“Seriously, I’ve never seen a young man less patient than you!” Feng Zhoulong said with a displeased voice.
“Are you saying that you’ve managed to acquire Bei Jiang’s Dark Material?” Mo Fan asked.
The Dark Material had dissipated as soon as Mo Fan killed Bei Jiang. Since it was impossible to take away a person’s Spirit-grade Seed or Soul-grade Seed, Mo Fan did not really care much about it.
“My Secondary Element is the Undead Element. I’m very familiar with dealing with corpses. To me, every corpse is like a fortune,” Feng Zhoulong said.
“I see; no wonder you were able to figure out Bei Jiang’s two Elements have merged into one!” Mo Fan nodded.
“Acquiring the power of a dead body was my field of research during university. Everything being lost after death is a terrible belief. I’ve managed to acquire toxins from dead sea monsters that made us immune to their deadly poisons. I’ve retrieved the Summoned Beasts of the Summoners that died and prevented them powerful Summoned Beasts from going astray in the Summoned Beast Plane after their masters have died. I’ve… fine, considering how impatient you are, I’ll cut straight to the main point.
“I’ve obtained the Dark Material inside Bei Jiang’s body. It didn’t disappear after Bei Jiang died, but it has gathered like an elemental energy on Bei Jiang’s Soul Remnant. The problem is separating the Dark Material from Bei Jiang’s Soul Remnant. The two are tightly bound together. If you want to accept the Dark Material to enhance your Shadow Element, you will have to accept Bei Jiang’s Soul Remnant, too. I’m worried that it might result in negative mental impacts,” Feng Zhoulong said.
“So you’re saying that it’s possible for me to use the Dark Material?” Mo Fan said.
“You won’t be able to acquire his Innate Talent, but you can absorb his special Dark Material. With some practice, you should be able to control your shadows like he did, and use the Darkness Corruption. You should know that the power of darkness is like a contract. You can think of the Dark Material as a non-living Summoned Beast. It will look for a new master once their previous master dies… Back to the question, the Dark Material contains Bei Jiang’s Soul Remnant. Considering his hatred of you, when you bind the Dark Material to your soul, he will make use of the opportunity to attack you, and it might cost you your life!” Feng Zhoulong said.
“The power to control shadows, the Darkness Corruption… those are more than enough. Quick, tell me, what should I do!” Mo Fan answered excitedly, not caring about the risk!