Chapter 50: Exchange Students

"Boom!"

A deafening explosion shook the area as a thick, towering pillar of fire shot up from the ground.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

More pillars of fire erupted in quick succession, each one blazing with intense heat.

"Hisss!!"

As the violent waves of water from the attack slammed into the pillars of fire, they were instantly vaporized, transforming into steam. The water didn't stand a chance—it was completely evaporated!

"Principal, if this continues, someone's going to get seriously hurt." Zhou Zhenghua said, visibly concerned.

The water mages had triggered a massive brawl, and if things kept escalating, it was likely that lives would be at risk.

"Activate the Siyan Suppression Array. Suppress everyone's power immediately!" Principal Xiao ordered sternly.

As he gave the command, his eyes remained fixed on where Mo Fan stood.

Mo Fan had been continually surprising him with his abilities. He was now using the Fiery Fist: Nine Palaces. But what puzzled Principal Xiao was why Mo Fan had revealed his dual-element ability. Even without his lightning powers, Mo Fan should have been able to get the Shadow Beast into the Beast Cage amidst the chaos.

The Siyan Suppression is a high-level shadow magic array. Using shadow magic stones to position star tracks and star maps, the array's power is exponentially increased when massive amounts of energy are poured into it. Once activated, its power would be boosted several times—maybe even tenfold!

The Siyan Suppression Array was set up right in the middle of the students' battle zone. As the dean gave the command, the radiant night sky seemed to be swallowed up by an unseen force, like a giant hand of darkness covering the stars.

As this shadowy hand descended from the sky, dark stones embedded in the ground around the Beast Cage began to glow.

From a high altitude, one would notice that the placement of the dark stones formed a pattern—a star map—that outlined a massive constellation.

"What... what's happening?"

"Oh my god, I can't see anything!"

"My magic... why can't I cast my spells anymore?"

...

The constellation disappeared, and the mantle of the Siyan Suppression engulfed the entire area. A creeping unease spread throughout the students, and that unease quickly grew into full-blown fear.

Seeing the Siyan Suppression Array in effect, Mo Fan no longer held back.

"Thunderbolt: Yaksha!"

With the power suppression in place, Mo Fan no longer had to worry about seriously harming anyone. He unleashed his lightning magic with confidence.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

"Fiery Fist: Ground Break!"

In a matter of moments, Mo Fan knocked down over a dozen teams of students.

As soon as he did, instructors rushed in to drag the unconscious students out of the area.

Thanks to the suppression from the Siyan Array and Mo Fan's control, no one was seriously injured—just knocked out cold.

With ease, Mo Fan and his team fought their way through the competition. He even summoned his Flame Howling Wolf to join the fight. After a series of fierce battles, they finally managed to deliver the Shadow Beast into the Beast Cage.

With the Shadow Beast safely locked inside the cage, the competition came to an end.

Mo Fan earned his chance to enter the Three Steps Pagoda, as well as a reward of 40 million yuan. Including his bounty rewards and the money from selling monster materials, he now had over 50 million yuan to his name.

Afterward, Mo Fan and his team entered the Three Steps Pagoda to train, as promised.

Before they went in, Mo Fan generously gave them some advice about the differences between the first and second floors. However, he kept the secrets of the third floor to himself. How they handled things was up to them now. If it weren't for Zhao Manyan and Mu Nujiao, he wouldn't have bothered sharing anything at all.

After giving his advice, Mo Fan immediately headed for the third floor.

After training on the third floor for a day, he found the experience gains too minimal, so he set his sights on the fourth floor. With three magic elements at the advanced level and one at the second level, he had enough magical power to make it to the fourth floor successfully.

Once there, Mo Fan began his serious training. Although the energy on the fourth floor wasn't as abundant as the first time he had entered the tower, it was still far superior to the outside world.

By the time his training in the Three Steps Pagoda was over, Mo Fan's fire element had nearly reached its peak, and his summoning magic had also advanced to the third level of the intermediate stage.

A few days after leaving the tower, Mo Fan hadn't even had a chance to rest when he received a call from Zhao Manyan. Apparently, he had been selected as an exchange student. Frustrated, Mo Fan immediately went to Principal Xiao's office, accompanied by Zhao Manyan.

When Mo Fan arrived at the office and saw Principal Xiao and Zhou Zhenghua, he couldn't hold back his complaints. "I mean, seriously, you two didn't even ask me before putting my name on the list for the exchange program. I never said I wanted to be an exchange student! Besides, knowing my personality, if I go, I'll probably end up stomping on some so-called 'genius students' at the Imperial University. That's not a good look, right?"

In short, Mo Fan wasn't going to do anything without some form of benefit.

"Mo Fan, don't be so quick to refuse." Dean Xiao said with a knowing smile. "I know the pressure of going to the Imperial University as an exchange student is high, so we've prepared some additional rewards for you. Here, I have a Mind-Focusing Magic Tool. It will allow you to resist one mental attack while controlling your magic, ensuring you can complete a spell without interruption."

Dean Xiao knew Mo Fan all too well. There was no need for lengthy explanations—just offer him a good incentive!

"Dean Xiao, you should've just led with that! No worries, I'll make sure to show those so-called geniuses at Imperial University what real talent looks like." Mo Fan said with a grin.

"You've already taken the reward, so just make sure you don't embarrass us at Pearl Academy." Zhou Zhenghua, the department head, said sternly.

Most students would be eager to go on the exchange program, but Mo Fan had the audacity to haggle over rewards! The Mind-Focusing Magic Tool wasn't cheap, after all!

But with Mo Fan agreeing to go, the Pearl Academy's reputation was in good hands. Sure, the Imperial University had some exceptionally talented students, but they couldn't compare to Pearl Academy's star student.

Even without using magic tools, Mo Fan could easily hold his own. Whether it was new students or upperclassmen at Imperial University, few could truly challenge him.

Even the prodigies from the Imperial Capital couldn't compare to Mo Fan's strength.

With Mo Fan on board, Pearl Academy's reputation would surely remain intact!

(End of Chapter)