A Strange Constitution

Wei Rong heard the students' protests, and his expression darkened considerably.

His features were already rough and fierce on the best of days — when he let that mask drop, he looked positively menacing. The entire Fire Hall held its department head in particular awe.

"All of you, shut up!" Wei Rong bellowed, his voice rough and booming. It cut through the uproar in an instant — just as in the classroom, one stern look from Wei Rong was enough to make every last person fall silent.

He swept his gaze across the assembled Fire Hall students and spoke: "Today, I am deeply disappointed in all of you. This challenge has reached a point where there is no meaningful reason to continue. My intention was always to make every student in Fire Hall into an elite — a truly outstanding Mage. That is why I was so harsh on a Transfer Student who arrived partway through. But since he has proven through his own strength that he is no weaker than the vast majority of Fire Element students, if you truly have grievances against him, then challenge him later through proper, legitimate means. Do not stir up a ruckus now just to salvage a scrap of your pride. Pride is something you have to earn with your own hands. What I hope to see, someday, is one of you defeating this Transfer Student at the very peak of his power — that will be the finest answer Fire Hall has ever given."

Wei Rong's words echoed through the minds of the Fire Hall students. In their blind rush to see things through to the end, they had forgotten they had already lost today. More than a few began to feel quietly ashamed.

White-browed Teacher gave a small nod, a smile resting on his face. Resolved this way, at least it wouldn't invite so much criticism from the other departments.

"Mo Fan, come down. Your injuries are no small matter — push any harder and you might delay treatment," White-browed Teacher said.

Mo Fan nodded. He was genuinely in pain, and he was relieved Dean Xiao had arrived in time.

He stepped off the platform and made his way to Dean Xiao's side, muttering through a crooked grin, "What took you so long, old man?"

Dean Xiao shot him a look. "Is it really so hard to stay out of trouble?"

Mo Fan just laughed and let it go.

"Go get treated. Now," Dean Xiao said, unable to look at Mo Fan's wounds without a twinge of discomfort. He hurried him along.

With Mo Fan off the stage, everyone — Fire Hall students and onlookers from other departments alike — was left wanting more, but there was nothing left to watch. Still, a challenge that had stretched from afternoon all the way into the night was sure to become the talk of the entire school.

"You're fortunate — the flame of your Spirit Seed has given you a powerful fire resistance. Had it been anyone else, burned that badly without seeking treatment, they'd be looking at months of lingering illness. The healing arts I applied can restore your surface wounds, but there should still be some fire affliction residue inside your body. You'll need to take counter-element medicine and let it work through your system over the course of a week," White-browed Teacher said after completing his examination of Mo Fan.

Mo Fan nodded. From what he knew, lingering fire affliction inside the body was nothing to take lightly. Left unchecked, it could slowly seep into the organs, and at that point ordinary Healing Element arts were next to useless — only large quantities of herbal remedies and restorative magic could slowly bring it under control. That kind of medicine didn't come cheap, and it accounted for a substantial share of any Hunter-mage's expenses.

"Thank you, White-browed Teacher," Mo Fan said.

"That said, your constitution seems a little unusual. Has your body ever been conditioned through some unorthodox means?" White-browed Teacher asked in passing.

"Is something wrong with it?" Mo Fan asked.

"I can't quite put my finger on it. Normally, burns from flame will continue to worsen — at their worst, they can even become life-threatening. But I've noticed that since you came off the challenge platform and started resting, your wounds have been slowly healing on their own," White-browed Teacher said.

"Isn't that a good thing? It just means my recovery is exceptional."

White-browed Teacher shook his head and looked Mo Fan up and down. "If it were ordinary recovery, I wouldn't be asking. There's something strange about your body. If at all possible, I'd strongly recommend you find a more powerful Healing Element Mage for a thorough examination. I can sense a very volatile factor inside you — something that doesn't resemble Elemental Magic, White Magic, or Dimensional Magic as we know them. If I had to describe it, I would say it feels closest to Black Magic."

Mo Fan stared at him, something shifting behind his eyes.

*I once gained the power of the Demon Element. From what the senior Mages in the Southern Military District could tell, those remnants had nearly dissipated — so this White-browed Teacher must be extraordinarily capable. How else could he sense any of this?*

After all, if the Demon Element was truly a magic type in its own right, it fell squarely within the domain of Black Magic.

Mo Fan couldn't help but look at White-browed Teacher in a whole new light.

"I will. I'll get it looked into. Thank you, Teacher," Mo Fan replied.

Back at the apartment, Mo Fan was utterly drained.

Ai Tutu hovered at his side as he sprawled across the sofa, her voluptuous figure swaying as she chattered on without end.

The girl was visibly excited, her wide eyes glittering with something rare — a genuine flicker of admiration for Mo Fan.

Mu Nujiao, standing nearby, was more focused on his injuries. She made her displeasure known: he had barely set foot back on campus and was already throwing himself headlong into reckless trouble.

Mo Fan drifted off to sleep while listening to their voices. He was completely spent — but what a fight today had been.

He woke in the dead of night to find a thick blanket draped over him. The living room, so full of the girls' laughter and chatter before, had gone completely still.

Mo Fan grabbed a bottle of fruit beer from the refrigerator and moved out to the balcony, where the air was fresher.

"The overall strength of the students here at the Main Campus is way higher than I imagined," he muttered to himself, taking a sip of pineapple-flavored beer. "Someone naturally born with a Fire Spirit Seed is only ranked around one hundredth — which means a good chunk of the top hundred can probably match me in a fight. And the top fifty, or the top ten... aren't they basically a pack of monsters?"

And that was just one department of the entire Main Campus. Across every department combined, powerful people were everywhere. Standing out from that crowd wasn't going to be simple.

*There's still so much I need to improve.*

Getting a Contract Beast would give his strength a massive boost.

His Lightning Element Star Nebula needed to reach the third tier as soon as possible.

His Shadow Element didn't even bear mentioning — it was still stuck at the first tier. Giant Shadow Nail: Twin remained highly practical, but then there was Enchanted Gear: he only had two pieces. Rumor had it that most of the top fifty had complete sets, and in a fight against any of them, the gear gap alone would put him at a serious disadvantage.

*Clearly I need to train harder — and fill in every gap in my strength.*