Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
Mo Fan was familiar with the surroundings of the destroyed fortress. There were reef fronds like bamboo shoots under the water, formed because the whirlpools in the sea had accumulated some kind of quartz over time.
Fanxue Mountain had discovered an island made up of banks of quartz reefs recently. It had tripled the economy of Fanxue Mountain, and was one of the main sources of income for them now. As a matter of fact, those quartz reefs were very common along Feiniao City’s coastline. They gathered up tiny gold particles in the sea. Those that had accumulated over a long time would turn into islands, while those that were not exposed above the surface became reefs.
The underwater reefs served as the main foundation for the buildings in the fortress. Otherwise, it would have been difficult to construct buildings where Mages could fight the sea monsters.
There was a huge area full of reefs facing the ocean in the old fortress, around the size of three soccer fields. When the tide fell, the reef was exposed above the surface of the ocean, forming almost flat ground. It looked like a dark brown plaza floating on the sea from afar. When the tide rose, the reef would be immersed underwater. Interestingly, people could still stand on the reef, since the water was only around knee-deep.
The people of Feiniao Headquarters City called the area the Floating Reefs Battleground, since it allowed Mages who were not good in water to fight the ferocious sea monsters on the unique terrain.
The Feiniao Maritime Fortress used the Floating Reefs Battleground as its core. The rest of the buildings were built on the reefs that surrounded the battlefield.
The duel between Mo Fan and Zu Xiangtian was arranged to take place on the Floating Reefs Battleground.
Not only were the reefs rich in Earth Magic, they were sturdy, mainly consisting of quartz reef banks. Even the blows of Ruler-level creatures would have trouble destroying them.
Favorable terrain was important when fighting sea monsters. The Vice Mayor was treating all this as an opportunity to recruit more Mages to fight the sea monsters. He was not going to miss out on the opportunity of using the duel between Mo Fan and Zu Xiangtian as a form of advertising!
“As the official witness, I hope you two young and talented Mages will treat this as a friendly match and not overdo it,” the Vice Mayor finished his speech.
Unfortunately, the Mages from all over the world did not treat his speech seriously. They had been waiting for a day and a night to watch the duel. The boring speech was only driving them mad!
The Vice Mayor noticed the people had no interest in his words. He coughed awkwardly and said, “Shall I ask the two participants to say some words?”
Zu Xiangtian was already standing on the Floating Reefs Battleground. His eyes were full of disdain.
“Mo Fan, do you know you are like a stray dog?” Zu Xiangtian added with a smile when he saw Mo Fan was not speaking up. “Many ferocious-looking stray dogs are just like you. They bark fiercely at everything, even if it’s a bear, a tiger, or a lion. However, they are the quickest to run away in a confrontation. I feel awkward for you now. I wonder where you found the courage to come here?”
“Zu Xiangtian, I didn’t expect you to make such a big fuss about it. Didn’t you know the duels were held behind closed doors in the past? Our Fanxue Mountain prefers to hold duels that way since we are lenient toward our challengers, so they won’t feel humiliated after losing the duel. Too many people want to challenge me. I can easily bump into five people like you when I go to grab some quick bites. It’s normal for me to forget the person and the time of the duel.” Mo Fan was digging his ear. The seawater had just splashed into it.
“You forgot the time?” Zu Xiangtian repeated in disbelief.
“Yeah, you only got my attention because of how desperate you are to fight me. I won’t feel comfortable if I don’t step on your face after you’ve put makeup on and leave the print of my sole on it, so I finally remembered the duel this morning when I was having dessert,” Mo Fan said dismissively.
“I didn’t put on makeup!” Zu Xiangtian refuted coldly.
“Oh, you must be suffering from kidney deficiency, then. Why is your face so pale?” Mo Fan promptly shot back.
Zu Xiangtian’s face turned even paler.
You are the one with kidney deficiency. Your whole family is suffering from kidney deficiency!
There was nothing Mo Fan did not dare to say, regardless of the occasion.
The Vice Mayor initially wanted them to share their thoughts of being considered the strongest young Mages to motivate others, yet they instantly started arguing with one another. Mo Fan even claimed Zu Xiangtian was suffering from kidney deficiency!
“(Cough cough) You two, your voices are being amplified, so can you please say something positive? After all, the international Magic Association is watching the duel too,” the Vice Mayor reminded them softly with a gloomy expression.
“I see,” Mo Fan finally remembered he was standing in front of the public.
“Mo Fan, you have done so many shameless acts. You have also claimed yourself to be the strongest young Mage in the country, but I’m afraid it will be the end for you today!” Zu Xiangtian pointed at Mo Fan as he spoke, following the script he had long prepared.
Zu Xiangtian had put a lot of effort into ruining Mo Fan’s reputation. The people enjoyed watching the rivalry, too. They were supporting Zu Xiangtian, since he was claiming he was taking down a shameless hypocrite who did not have any true skills up his sleeves.
“People like to use my name to do things I have never done, yet many choose not to believe the proven things that I’ve done. To be honest, I’m getting tired of this,” Mo Fan sighed dramatically.
“Getting tired? What does he mean? Is he going to retire?”
“Is he saying he’s going to stay away from the public?”
“No, please don’t, brother Mo Fan, I like you the most. I’ve tried so hard to enroll into Pearl Institute. I just need to score five hundred more!” a young student screamed.
“Mo Fan, you are the savior of Beijiang and the Ancient Capital. We don’t care if people are jealous of you and try to ruin your reputation. We have always believed in you!”
The crowd was in an uproar. It was mainly split into three groups.
The first group consisted of the people who blindly followed the rumors and supported Zu Xiangtian. The second group was made up of the people of Beijiang and the Ancient Capital who were grateful to Mo Fan for fending off the Black Vatican. The rest were onlookers who were interested in the duel. They had no clue who the good guy or the bad guy was. They would just support whoever earned the most attention.
“Mo Fan, we trust you!”
A bunch of his loyal supporters was shouting among the crowd, remaining faithful to Mo Fan. Some of the survivors from the inner walls of the Ancient Capital had come to support Mo Fan too.