Chapter 12

Ngl, haven't posted in so long + kind of forgot about it. Since I saw that much support, I'll continue it. Ty, btw I have some explaining to do for this chapter, but it is already so long. Hydro Check

Mo Fan didn't have to watch Mu Bai's test results to know. He locked eyes with Mu Ningxue, and he was fortuitous to be able to see her.

'It has been a year!'

Mo Fan wore an expression of overjoyed but quickly turned to heavy-hearted. He was glad that he would be able to see her, and he knew that she had been suffering from her family. With how crazy her talent is, the Mu Clan is preparing her to be a tool.

'It is such an irony; you give up your freedom to be a powerful bargaining chip. It is not a caged bird but a high surveillance prison.'

"Next, Mo Fan!"

"Mo Fan, that sounds familiar." At this time, Mu Zhuoyun slowly opened his mouth.

"Big Brother, he is the son of Madam's driver," Mu He reminded Mu Zhuoyun.

At that moment, Mu Zhuoyun's proud eyes turned into a glare, like a sniper looking at its prey.

In truth, he had already taken notice of Mo Fan. However, he doubted a son of a poor family would be able to become something great without any resources.

Mu Zhuoyun glanced at Mu Ningxue to his side.

Mu Ningxue quickly recovered her tranquil manner, acting as though she was looking at the mediocre students from before, without any fluctuation in her emotions.

Mu Zhuoyun's eyes gave rise to some satisfaction. 'A kid will always have a time where they are rebellious. Once they grow up, they will no longer be that childish and short-sighted.'

"Let's stay and watch it. He also counts as one of our Mu Family, at least, he was." Mu Zhuoyun spoke indifferently.

Mu Zhuoyun was also very clear on the fact that a driver's son was incapable of being any good; thus, letting Mu Ningxue watch was also beneficial. This kind of person was common within the small Bo City, they would leave our world sooner or later.

All of Mu family's eyes fell on Mo Fan. He seemed calm before the audience. No need to be stressed and confident that he will score high. Unlike Mo Fan's last life, where he placed end last during the mid-term exam, he placed dead center of the class, 24 out of 48. Mo Fan was placed well enough where the casual students couldn't flame or talk trash about him but bad enough where people still look down on him.

Mo Fan casually strolled up to the exam grounds ignoring all whispers. 'Since everyone here has their attention on me, I will give you a never seen performance.'

Mo Fan placed his hands on the Appraisal Stone just like everyone else who had taken the test. At this moment, everyone was quietly watching Mo Fan and holding their breath, especially Xue Musheng.

The stone glowed brightly with an A+; it seemed to be on the edge of bursting into an overflowing state. The examiners simultaneously agreed on the results of A+!

Narration: You could hear a penny drop on the ground.

Most students of Class Eight disrespected or ignored Mo Fan, due to them trying to stay within the social hierarchy of the class. Of course, it is expected of the rumors and mainly Zhao Kunsan's spread of annoying comments.

Mu Bai had mixed emotions. He had already lost his battle against Xiaohou, and his instinct told him that Mo Fan was even stronger somehow. He felt relieved and annoyed; however, the thought of Mo Fan didn't fail at all made him grumpy.

"Nice Mo Fan! I thought you were going to drag down the class, but you have worked hard your way back up!" Xue Musheng prayed to every god possible for Mo Fan's grade, financially, of course.

Zhoumin, who also had Fire Element, felt jealous and conflicted about the situation. During the mid-year test, she was top 3 in the class while Mo Fan was stuck in the middle rankings.

She thought. 'It must be nice to be able to barely cultivate but work hard at the last minute and still get better results.' She developed a disliking toward Mo Fan and wanted to surpass him.

Meanwhile, Mo Fan was unfazed with A+, he requested a retest. "I would like to use my second attempt."

"Umm… Go ahead." The bald head examiner doubted Mo Fan's grade would change.

Mo Fan quickly put his hand on the Appraisal Stone. He let out more of the cultivation of his Fire Element onto the stone. The initial A+ grade turned into a more intense and dense flame ball; the overflowing state glowed like a blazing star.

"S!"

"S+!"

S+!"

The already jealous and shocked students went mad upon seeing Mo Fan attain the overflowing state.

The average grade would be B! Each year of school, there would be around 2 extraordinary people who could acquire S grades, but for Mo Fan who was known as poor and untalented in the school, getting an A grade is like seeing pigs fly, S grade should be impossible.

"HOLY SHIT! I must be tripping! This is a dream!" The dorm mate, Xiao Bing exclaimed at it in astonishment. He seemed unable to believe that Mo Fan was able to cause an S-grade Fire Element radiance to appear on the Star Appraisal Stone.

A few more people returned to reality. "There is no way this man can just pull an S grade out of his ass!" Li Tao roared on with Xiao Bing in denial.

"There is no way! That guy is cheating! Something is wrong with the stone!!" (random guy pointed at the Appraisal Stone.)

A wave of agreements followed in the crowd. A bunch of girls booed Mo Fan.

Xiaohou was confused in thought. 'Why is my brother attracting all the hate? I got a top score and yet people congratulated me on my talent and hard work?' He didn't understand the difference between him and Mo Fan.

Mu Bai thought he lucked out until Mo Fan decided to show his actual strength. "Shit! Fuck!?" Nothing went Mu Bai's way. 'I lost the stone, lost against the monkey, now going to lose against Mo Fan, my #1 enemy. What more can go wrong?' Mu Bai lamented.

Meanwhile, on stage, the examiner asked Mo Fan to take his hands off. However…

~crack

The stone was gradually engulfed in flames before reaching its limit. Mo Fan overloaded the Appraisal Stone into pieces. The audience lost it; none of the first years has ever broken the Appraisal Stone. They were many and exceptional talents, but they were all measurable within the orb's ability.

Mo Fan became the first ever to break it, not to mention in front of the Mu Family.

Mo Fan smiled happily. Enjoying the moment, he scanned around with people's surprised (Pikachu) faces. The best ones were Mu Bai, Mu He, and Zhao Kunsan. They were cringing so hard that you could hear their face bones cracking; meanwhile, in contrast, Xue Musheng celebrated like he had won the lottery, and he could hear the money rolling in. He had been very worried about Mo Fan's results, but it was never a problem.

Mu Zhouyun's reaction was the change in his icy and frosty eyes to raising a brow and mouth opened. Mu Ningxue and Tangyue both wore a warm and happy smiles at Mo Fan. Xiaohou was just jumping up and down in the background, celebrating like a little brother.

"So? What are my results?" Mo Fan questioned.

"Ummm," All three examiners were lost. One of them quickly turned to Principal Zhu who was present. "Principal Zhu. How should we grade this?"

A near 60 old man walked up. He looked like the typical old principal; he wore a simple but elegant tux and his hair was done very professionally. He wore a very bright and warm smile toward Mo Fan. "In all of the years that this school has been built, none of the students wasn't able to achieve what Mo Fan has! All of the previous students had only been able to achieve only Level One, but Mo Fan has accomplished the peak of Level One, and with only several more months of diligent cultivation, he should be able to reach Level Two. Right now, I will give Mo Fan a grade of SS. Sadly, the school hasn't prepared any higher-quality Appraisal Stones at this moment. Big Congratulations for being the first SS!"

"Thank you, but I still have the second part of the test to take!" Mo Fan mentioned.

"Right! Sorry about the interruptions. Go ahead." Principal Zhu quickly stepped off the stage, smiling happily with a new talent that could lead Bo City in the future.

"WTF!!!! Mo Fan got an SS. That is a new grade just now!" People were losing it. They can't keep up with what is happening! Mo Fan just received the highest grade for breaking the stone.

"We thought Mu Bai was Number 1, but Mo Fan showed that he was a league above him!" A boy who just slightly recovered from the shock.

"There is no way! That Appraisal Stone must be broken! How did he obtain the grade SS?" A girl who didn't believe in Mo Fan.

"I am going to jump off the roof. Don't stop me!" A Water Element mage who got a grade of C.

"Wait, let me join you!" A Light Element mage was added, who got the same grade.

"Hey Chen Bao, how did Mo Fan get an A+ then an S+ then SS?" Sun Xiang asked.

"Well, he must have practiced and must be very talented.." Chen Bao answered honestly.

Sun Xiang wasn't in the mood for jokes. "Ayo, Captain Obvious. I was kind of asking a rhetorical question."

"Nevertheless, he is at a point where he is getting ready for the level two of Fire Element. He has already solidified his First Level Fire Burst. Usually, it would take people, who got S grade, at least 1 year and more to reach the Second Level, but I estimate that he will probably make it within 6 months." Chen Bao analyzed.

"Bruhh…" Sun Xiang was speechless.

Throughout all of the slander, Xiaohou spoke up and defended Mo Fan. "There is no way that the Appraisal Stone is broken because it measured Mu Bai's radiance, too. The stone was double-checked between examinees. It is just that Brother Fan is too powerful for the Appraisal Stone!"

Xiaohou turned to look at Zhao Kunsan who felt that he had taken the wrong pills today. It was supposed to be Mu Bai's glorious showoff day, but it turned dark for the worst.

Xue Musheng looked like he was already in heaven. His spirit seemed to have left him; he heard that Mo Fan was going to take the Activation Test. It was just like in a story! The main character somehow leaps from dead last to the best.

Meanwhile, Mu He just recovered. "Mu Bai, did you really place the Black Stone there? The absorption rate of that Black Stone is really strong, a person who can receive a B would be turned into someone who can't even get D," Mu He whispered to Mu Bai.

"I... I… There was some mistake; I lost the stone."Mu Bai was cornered. He could only answer honestly.

Mu He popped a vein on his forehead upon hearing Mu Bai and whispered to him. "You useless child, can't even keep a stone well. I fostered you well just for you to screw up, and that screw-up will not affect me but you heavily. You just lost many resources and you can't even do better than a monkey."

Mu Bai showed a dejected face. There wasn't anyone to blame except for himself, and he questioned himself whether he was living in a dream.

Meanwhile, on the stage, Mo Fan finished his casting in 3 seconds. There was a visibly different between the casting speed of Mo Fan and Mu Bai. In the battle, whoever can cast magic quicker would have a high chance of winning. Therefore, many experts value people who can cast magic quickly, but they also want people who can do well under pressure.

"Fire Burst, Scorch!"

A basketball-sized flame ball appeared on Mo Fan's hands. It was ready to cause danger and destruction to anything, and Mo Fan waved it toward the puppet. With contact, the puppet was caught on fire, and in mere seconds, the vicious fire burned the puppet to ashes.

Examiners noticed Mo Fan the speed difference between Mu Bai and Mo Fan. It was more than impressive! His casting speed is almost on par with students a grade above him. The average speed of casting for the grade above him is around 3 seconds. In his first year, Mo Fan is nearly equaled in terms of Magic Ability with older students!

"...S!"

"...S!"

"...A+!"

"Student, your final result is S-!" the bald examiner was sweating! He was told to help Mu Bai to get rid of Mo Fan, but who knew that Mo Fan had such overwhelming ability!

With such an amazing display of ability and talent, Mu Ningxue was shocked! If Mo Fan was able to continue the speed of cultivation, he could have the ability to enter most of the colleges out there! It was unknown how Mo Fan reached such a stage without any background and family support which reflects his natural and true talent for the Fire Element. Mu Ningxue showed a slight smile.

Not only did Mu Ningxue show off her smile, but Tangyue also took a half step back. She was the only one who knew that Mo Fan had both Fire and Lightning Elements, and Mo Fan was able to cast both elements like an expert. When she started as a young age, she was nowhere close to how talented Mo Fan was! 'There must be something special having double elements!'

Mo Fan did have many girls admiring him, but there was an exception, Zhou Min. She was also a Fire Element Mage, but she was known as the strongest Fire mage until Mo Fan showed up! She showed both hatred and jealousy toward Mo Fan because he stole her spot and attention. With Mo Fan suddenly showing off, she was pushed to Number 5 within the grade.

"Is this really the Mo Fan that we know??" Zhou Min was stunned.

"This really is the most amazing turnaround in history! He became a generational talent in just a second! It's really blinding my dog's eyes!!" Xu Qinglin said.

"It is almost like one of those scientific stories where the main character who was the worst suddenly becomes the best!" A boy who stayed near Mo Fan's dorm stated.

NT: This is a magical world, so the thing science would be known as fiction in their world. Science logic doesn't work in their world.

"As expected of the Mu Family. Brother Mu Zhouyun, you had our small-scaled Magician Organization have an eye-opening experience. If I remember correctly, this Mo Fan is the son of the driver at your manor. Being in a large, noble family sure is great, you even unconsciously influenced a preeminent student in Bo City?" said Deng Kai from the Hunter's Union.

Deng Kai was the upper echelon of the Hunter's Union, and at the same time, he was also a director of Tian Lan Magic High. Amongst the school directors, his cultivation was the highest, and his strength was also the greatest.

"You can't help but admire that. A son of a driver is already this talented, he's comparable to the magic seedlings which they have carefully raised!" A nearby school director exclaimed unknowing Mo Fan's situation.

"I have to agree too! This Mo Fan must be watched carefully from now; also, I have seen that Zhang Xiaohou was better in both cultivation and activation than Mu Bai. Both of the two are noteworthy with their lacking family background support!" Principal Zhu was pleased with the two youngsters.

Mu Zhouyun slowly came back to his senses from the shock. He also thought this son of a driver would have no ability, but he even heard high praises from both the Principal and Deng Kai; his face suddenly lit up.

As his mood got better, Mu Zhuoyun's heart also began to ponder. He didn't know who the lad Zhang Xiaohou was, but Mo Fan was superior to Zhang Xiaohou.

The Mu Family doesn't lack in power, but recruiting a couple of talented mages would be beneficial in the long run; not to mention, the Mu Family was very short in Magicians who specialized in the Fire Element.

'Although this kid had done things that had caused me to feel incomparably angry, he was just young and inexperienced. It had already been so many years since then, that there was no need to continue investigating it. It was about time to give some benefit to this kid so he would start to serve the Mu Family. Why not let the bygone be bygones?' Mu Zhouyun thought.

He would definitely not approach Mu Ningxue. However, he could send him to his eldest son, Mu Jiangming, and nurture him into a remarkable Fire Element henchman. That was not a bad plan.

'A talented person still needed to be recruited!'

Mu Zhuoyun stroked his beard, feeling somewhat happy. After seeing Mo Fan exiting the examination ground, he opened his mouth to say, "Mo Fan, come here. I have an offer for you!"

"Our Mu Family received some cultivation resources for the Fire element a while ago; unfortunately, most of the people in the manor are Ice elemental users. Your fire-elemental talent is not bad at all; your cultivation even surprised me. Thus, I'd like to give these resources to you. From now on, when you're not attending classes, you may cultivate with Mu Jiangming," Mu Zhuoyun said as he stroked his beard.

Mo Fan knew what was going to happen, so he cut straight to the chase. "Old scoundrel, do you think I don't know what you want from me? You want me to serve as a henchman! Just like the fat dog, Zhao Kunsan. Do you not remember all the pain you have caused to my family? Three years ago, you suppressed my family with your strong sense of justice and accused me of trying to abduct your precious little daughter. Not to mention, you called our family just some stray dogs ready to be dumped into the streets! I, Mo Fan, am not someone who you can slap and then give some benefit for me to devote my life to you. Since you don't seem to remember that, I will help you out. Peace was never an option between us!" Mo Fan dug directly into a landmine.

The Principal, the school directors, director Deng Kai, Mu He, Mu Bai, Zhao Kunsan, Xue Musheng, the students of eighth class, as well as Mu Ningxue were completely shocked.

Mu Zhuoyun's face was warm and smiled, but it did a full 180 toward Mo Fan. It was increasingly cold and grim by the second.

Creak~ (Insert sound effect)

The angry Mu Zhouyun unreleased his cold aura causing the ground to be covered in a thin layer of crystal ice. Within a few seconds, Mu Zhouyun froze the ground into solid ice without calling out any spells. The icy aura was vicious. The hot, summer day suddenly became winter. The training grounds also turned into an ice floor, like a frozen lake!

Now Mo Fan has done it! Mu Zhuoyun was angry, really angry! He ticked off one of the more superior people in Bo City.

"Zhuoyun, control your mood. This is a school, and there are also students with no defensive capabilities," The school director who was also from the Hunter's Union, Deng Kai, suddenly stood up, standing between Mu Zhuoyun and Mo Fan.

Tangyue, who was also one of the people who could move under this much pressure, stepped between Mo Fan and Mu Zhuoyun. She was a teacher of Mo Fan, so she couldn't just let him be killed easily, but Mu Zhouyun's cultivation was several times higher than hers.

"Mo Fan! What are you saying! You better reflect on your actions before you get expelled from the school and apologize to Mr. Mu Zhouyun before it is too late!" Mu He said angrily.

"You want to expel me? If you have problems with me, just come to me personally. There is no need for such a roundabout way to punish me! Otherwise, you will just be using your power and status to suppress and bully me again! If you were my age, I can single-handedly beat you up good!" Mo Fan had no intention of backing down.

Mo Fan saw that Mu Zhouyun was only at Advanced Level Mage, and it would only take Mo Fan around 3 or 4 years to surpass him in absolute raw power. His cultivation would be seen as godly for a small city, but in bigger cities like Magic Capital. There were thousands of people just around who could beat him without any spells, such as Zhu Meng!

"Okay! Since that is what you want, I will..." Mu Zhouyun was about to accept Mo Fan's terms.

"No need! I will deal with this man." An icy and sharp voice cut into their conversation. Everyone turned their focus to the sound. It was Mu Ningxue!

"Since you said that my father used his authority to suppress you, and you relied on your cultivation to develop your magic. In that case, I'm the same age as you, I'll compete with you!" In Mu Ningxue's tranquil voice was an icy power.

"Ningxue??" After Mu Zhuoyun saw his own daughter come out, the anger on his face changed into astonishment.

Mu Bai was as shocked as anyone, but he looked cunning when he saw an opportunity to seize more power.

"No need for the young mistress to expend extra energy! I can take care of Mo Fan for you and clean Mu Family's name." Mu Bai perfectly inserted himself upon seeing the opportunity.

"No! My father has been thoroughly humiliated. My father can be magnanimous and not bother with this sharp-tongued little thief. However, I, as his daughter, simply will not let the person who has humiliated my father off! We'll settle it by using an impartial Magic Duel!" Each and every word said by Mu Ningxue was sincere, there was not a hint of hesitation in her voice.

"Good well said! As expected of the number one genius of Bo City! Your unyielding character makes the older generation feel gratified, and with such outstanding talent at such a young age while making a good judgment on these things!" School Director Deng Kai immediately began praising her.

After he praised her, Director Deng Kai also patted Mu Zhuoyun's back as he said, "Brother Zhuoyun, having you deal with this rude kid is not necessary at all. Naturally, you can't return to when you were 16 to duel him, proving whether he's better than you when you were young. It's better to let your daughter Mu Ningxue take your place in this matter and silence this kid that does not know the immensity of heavens and earth."

Deng Kai turned onto Mo Fan. "Mo Fan, right? As the person in charge of the Hunter's Union within Bo City, I really am not sure whether your actions today can be described as you being young and inexperienced, or just simply stupid. However, you should apologize to Mu Zhuoyun for your hot-headed action, the contributions he has made to Bo City are far beyond what you can comprehend."

"Apologize? Sure! If I lose, I would cover myself in thorns and kowtow until Mu Zhouyun is satisfied. My actions today are the reason for what happened three years ago, and if you say that they are in the right, am I, the victim, in the wrong?" Mo Fan reasoned.

Deng Kai looked at Mo Fan in disappointment. He was trying to be a mediator between the two, but this kid was something else. It was like if heaven was to crash down right now, he would still be able to talk boldly and without holding back."

Mu Zhouyun interjected. "Since you want your duel, I will give you one! However, I would not allow my daughter to fight you. I will let my adopted song, Yu Ang, fight in her stead. If you lose, you will kowtow until I am satisfied, but if I lose, I will apologize for this little thing in my eyes!"

Mu Zhouyun saw through Mu Ningxue's intention. If they were to fight, she would definitely throw the match toward Mo Fan's favor, but if Yu Ang was the one fighting, Yu Ang would basically do anything that Mu Zhouyun says. In Mu Family, Yu Ang was known as the mad man of cultivation, and if they let Yu Ang handle this kid, Mo Fan would die a miserable death!

"The regulations of the Magic Association state that both of the parties involved in the Magic Duel need to be 18 years old. Thus, allow me, Deng Kai, to act as a witness for this matter. The day when Mo Fan and Yu Ang have both reached the age of 18, they will engage in a Magic Duel!" Deng Kai said sincerely.

"Deal! In two years, Yu Ang and I will fight for this matter. I suggest that you get Yu Ang as much Magic Armor against Fire Element because he is going to need it. I will beat him into a pulp.

"Kid! You are being too arrogant!" Mu Zhouyun added.

"Then come! Breakthrough my arrogance!" Mo Fan was feeling heated, and he felt that line was too good to pass on. [Cultured men would know where this line is from - Author]

Mu Zhouyun had enough of this kid's sharp tongue. If he stayed around Mo Fan too long, he would lose parts of his lifespan. Just you wait! I will make sure that you will not be able to become a mage again. You having some ability apparently makes you so arrogant and confident.

Mu Zhouyun turned and left. Naturally, the Principal and school directors followed him. Mu Ningxue showed a meaningful look at Mo Fan as if she was about to correct him, but she didn't know what to say about Mo Fan's sharp tongue.

Mo Fan smiled being in this situation again and can't wait to beat Yu Ang.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Things finally have died down, but the news of Mo Fan standing up against Mu Family spread like wildfire. Mo Fan could have been acknowledged as a Perfect Student if he chose any other routes. He was known as the Sharp Tongue Mad Man.

In Bo City, it was a fact that Mu Family was the biggest and largest clan in Bo City. Yet, this kid decided it was good to offend them after getting the best grade! There were many people who were jealous that Mo Fan didn't accept their resources.

"Brother Fan, you were too cool! The way you stood your grounds against that old bastard was too insane! Not going to lie, there were a couple of us who were calling him an old scoundrel in our heads." Zhang Xiaohou had a lot of adoration for Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was the king of the children within this area of the city. Back in the day, he could gather masses with a single call, even Zhao Kunsan mingled with Big Brother Mo Fan. Only after that incident did Zhao Kunsan start to rely on Mu Bai, and many others no longer dared to play with Mo Fan.

Zhang Xiaohou was devoted to Mo Fan. No matter what kind of over-the-boundary thing Mo Fan had done, he would still lift even his feet to clap in admiration!

"I mean… I just hate their way of pressuring weak families. Anyways Xiaohou, it is going to be summer break soon. The school would be partially open, so we can both train at the school." Mo Fan was more focused on helping out Xiaohou than talking to the old bastard.

"Ahhhh, I thought I was going to have a fun summer. I guess I will come, but I am already pretty good, right?" Zhang Xiaohou still had complaints.

"You are good if you compare against our class, but you should focus more on the people above you." Mo Fan sighed.

"All right… Brother Fan, did you catch Mu Bai and Zhao Kunsan's faces when you broke the Appraisal Stone! It was more than satisfied!" Xiaohou exclaimed.

"Yeah, it was pretty good. Hey, let's hurry to the cafeteria." Mo Fan had something in mind.