Chapter 46: Capturing Yu Ang

It was already late at night when Mo Fan returned to school. As he approached the artificial lake, he noticed several figures moving in the shadows near a large rock formation. Now that his Shadow Element had reached the third level, he was extremely sensitive to any changes in shadows. Even from behind the large rocks, he could clearly sense what was happening.

Although these people were students of Pearl Academy, Mo Fan knew full well that they were connected to Yu Ang.

"Go, let's make this quick!" A voice from the shadows barked orders—it was clearly the leader.

Several figures leaped out from behind the rock formation, each emanating magical energy. The star patterns swirling around them proved they had already prepared their spells. A bright fireball cut through the night sky, thrown from the top of the rock formation, and from its intensity, it was clearly a third-level Fire Burst.

"Fire Burst: Explosion!"

The attacking fireball was instantly shattered by Mo Fan, and his own fireball shot back toward the figures.

Boom!

The explosion engulfed the group in flames, leaving them defenseless.

As the flames cleared, one of the attackers was pinned to the ground by Mo Fan.

"Who are you?" Mo Fan demanded.

"We're students from Pearl Academy!" one of the less informed attackers stammered.

"Alright, take him to the infirmary." Mo Fan instructed, pointing to the injured person.

"Okay."

Mo Fan sneered. While some of the students might not have known what was going on, the one who attacked him, Fu Tianming, was no innocent. He was a lackey of the Church. Since Mo Fan had run into him, it was the perfect opportunity to cripple him.

Mo Fan didn't kill him though—he still had use for him.

As the attackers, including the one now disguised as Jia Wenqing, were taken away, Mo Fan used his Shadow Element to follow them. He remembered that Yu Ang had met with this lackey before.

Inside the Jingan Private Nursing Home, a middle-aged man stood by a hospital bed, looking down at a man whose body was covered in casts and supported by metal rods.

"Fu Tianming, I'll ask you one more time. Have you been exposed?" the man asked coldly.

"No, I swear on my life I haven't. I went there under the alias Jia Wenqing, so the school can't possibly know anything. But I still don't understand why that guy hit me so hard." Fu Tianming, the man in the cast, responded fearfully.

This was the same Fu Tianming whom Mo Fan had beaten so badly. He trembled as he looked at the cold, calculating figure in front of him.

"I'll make other arrangements. Your job is to recover, then use your connections to take revenge on him. I need to confuse the public." the ominous figure said, surrounded by a dark aura.

"Cleric, sir, that guy already has many enemies in Pearl Institute. Even if you don't act, his enemies will. I've heard that during the upcoming main campus assessments, several elite students plan to gang up on him." Fu Tianming suggested.

"I don't need your advice." the dark figure snapped.

After their conversation, the man left, and Fu Tianming struggled to look out the window, horrified to see several terrifying, shadowy figures following the man. They were the "Black Abominations"—grotesque, half-human, half-monster creatures raised by the cleric.

The sight made Fu Tianming tremble even more. Failure often led to a horrifying fate, and he feared he might end up like those wretched creatures.

Unbeknownst to them, Mo Fan had followed the cleric's every move from the shadows.

Mo Fan tracked Yu Ang to an abandoned factory on the outskirts of town. Once inside, he found only Yu Ang's henchmen and several Black Abominations.

"Master Lan has ordered that this mission was given directly by Master Salan himself. We must acquire the Holy Spring. Failure is not an option, or we'll all face Salan's wrath. You all understand what that means, don't you?" Yu Ang snarled, showing half of his disfigured face.

His subordinates trembled in fear. Even the Black Abominations quivered at the mention of Sarang's name.

Seeing that Master Lan wasn't present, Mo Fan decided to reveal himself.

"Azure Flame!"

With a loud roar, blue flames surged around Mo Fan. The azure flames gathered into his fist.

"Fiery Fist: Nine Palaces!"

The ground of the large, decrepit factory—spanning at least a hundred meters—suddenly split open. Enormous pillars of azure fire erupted from the earth.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Eight more towering columns of fire exploded from the ground, each as massive as the first. The flames surged and collided, forming a ferocious wave of azure fire that roared and swept through everything in its path.

In an instant, the Black Abominations and Yu Ang's lackeys were reduced to nothing but ash. Even Yu Ang himself was severely injured by the devastating firestorm.

However, Mo Fan had intentionally spared his life. Yu Ang, trembling with fear, watched in disbelief as Mo Fan emerged from the swirling flames, walking towards him with a calm smile.

"You...you..." Yu Ang stammered, his voice shaking with terror.

He could hardly believe that Mo Fan had reached the third level of fire magic. How was this even possible? Even with access to the Holy Spring, this should have been out of reach for a low-born mage like Mo Fan!

"Yu Ang, I hear you've been looking for me. Now that I'm here, do you have anything you want to say?" Mo Fan smiled as he stepped on Yu Ang's head.

Bam!

Mo Fan's foot came down with scorching flames, burning half of Yu Ang's face.

"Arghh!" Yu Ang screamed in agony.

"Please, don't kill me! I was wrong! Spare me!" Yu Ang begged, terrified of death.

"You don't want to die, huh?" Mo Fan chuckled.

"No, I want to live!" Yu Ang cried desperately.

Mo Fan shook his head with a sigh, as if disappointed. "Back in Bo City, I spared your life once. That was your lucky break, but you didn't cherish it."

Yu Ang froze in shock. He hadn't realized that Mo Fan had known about him all along.

"Now, you're begging for mercy. Do you think that's appropriate?" Mo Fan asked.

Even as Yu Ang begged, he secretly summoned his cursed abomination.

But before it could do anything, Mo Fan, without even turning his head, used "Giant Shadow Spike" to immobilize it and unleashed a devastating third-level lightning spell.

"Thunderbolt: Madness Dance!"

In an instant, Yu Ang's cursed abomination was reduced to nothing, not even a trace of its remains left behind.

(End of Chapter)