Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

"Ai Jiangtu, Nanyu: one represented the military headquarters in the east, one represented the military headquarters in the west. I bet the guy from the headquarters in the south was disqualified. I met him before, a strong guy indeed! If it wasn't because the national team can only have two students from the military academy, someone on our team might have been replaced," said Zhao Manyan.

Mo Fan immediately thought of Zhan Kong at the mention of the military.

Zhan Kong was the army commander in Bo City under the control of the southern army. The massive southern army had more than fifty military districts. The man in charge of protecting Bo City was only a Commander of the south-east district of the southern army, the Commander of the Snowy Peak Mountain station.

It highlighted how massive the military was.

"How about that hussy Jiang Shaoxu?" Mo Fan asked in shock after hearing this information.

"I'm not sure about her yet. The girl is quite mysterious, but the fact that I can't find any information about her simply means her background is surely formidable too!" Zhao Manyan told him.

"How about Nanrong Ni?" asked Mo Fan.

"The Nanrong Family is one of the oldest Magic renowned families in our country. The truth is, the Nanrong Family isn't as competent as the rest of the factions. It's slightly behind compared to the Zhao Family and Mu Family, but Nanrong Ni is a Healer, and that alone is enough to guarantee her spot. Healers are extremely rare in the whole country. There's no way she would get replaced, unless they found a Healer who's a lot more talented than her. The Nanrong Family is hoping that Nanrong Ni is their turning point for a comeback, to see if they can be promoted to a renowned clan after the World College Tournament," said Zhao Manyan.

"What's the difference between a renowned family and a renowned clan?" Mo Fan was like a curious little kid. He was determined to learn all about it now that the topic was on.

Zhao Manyan smacked his forehead. He was utterly impressed by Mo Fan. How did he manage to climb to the top among the young Magicians? He didn't have an impressive background or supporter, not to mention how retarded he was, too!

"Tell you what... a renowned family normally refers to big families with great influence in a country. A renowned clan is a super family with great influence on the international level… Nanrong Family has been going downhill for the past few years. My Zhao Family has bought many of their properties, but Nanrong Ni is their chance of having a comeback. Therefore, you're really something when you asked Nanrong Ni to quit the team and give her spot to Mu Ningxue. Even if she wasn't a Healer, there's no way she would quit the team," Zhao Manyan continued to inform Mo Fan of the truth of the national team.

"Fine, I admitted that I've thought everything was too simple," Mo Fan admitted with a wry smile.

"To be really honest with you, you're an idiot if you think you can underestimate them because you have an edge over the others on the team. The factions supporting them will spend more money as the training goes on, expending Galaxy Veins on them as if they are completely free. A full set of top-tier magic equipment and tools, or the best Soul Seeds available on the market... you'll realize your so-called talents or cultivation are total nonsense. The guy just has to wear a Scorpio Magic Armor, and you won't be to hurt even a single strand of his hair, even if you used up all your energy!" said Zhao Manyan.

"I have to say, I'm getting worried after hearing this from you," said Mo Fan.

"As a matter of fact, someone as talented as you should really look for a patron. Just look for a faction that you're interested in, stomp through the door like what you did to my room, and yell in their face that you have five Elements, and ask them to spend all their money on you to improve all your Elements to the Advanced Level, each with a top-tier Soul Seed, or get you a few sets of Magic Tools. You can get a full set of top-tier magic equipment too... I believe they are willing to spend whatever they need just to recruit you… oh, that being said, you can easily burn up all the money a family has at the Advanced Level. Once you reached the Super Level, I bet even the renowned families will have trouble supporting you. Only the renowned clans could clench their teeth and spend resources on you. I really don't understand why you wasted your money on strengthening the Stars. You'll have plenty of places to use your money soon," Zhao Manyan said sincerely.

It was not like Mo Fan had any other options apart from strengthening his Stars. He could not sell the Soul Essences that Little Loach refined. Otherwise, he would have easily made a fortune, and had no problem raising a few Mu Ningxues.

"I've gotten used to doing it myself, searching for resources myself, earning equipment myself, killing the creatures myself... that's how living is supposed to be. Besides, being supported by a faction means cultivating boringly every day, that's surely not my cup of tea. My cultivation and my capabilities will be utterly meaningless," said Mo Fan.

"You're right, there's no way you can get used to living a fuerdai's life. Start from scratch and climb your way up yourself... the truth is, most Sacred Magicians that stand at the top of the world are people like you," sighed Zhao Manyan.

"Now that's more like it!" Mo Fan burst out laughing.

"Which is why the people behind you don't really need to care about you. You managed to save them lots of money," said Zhao Manyan.

"The people behind me?" Mo Fan was confused. Did he have people with formidable backgrounds supporting him too? Why wasn't he aware?

"F**k me, did you forget how you ended up on the national team? You didn't even finish the preliminaries, you're basically disqualified. However, you were shoved into the team just like that after the selection ended! A team that normally has only two substitutes now has three because of you… I already told you how much every faction needs to spend just to secure their candidates a spot, but when you were put on the team, they didn't even dare to release a single fart. The person who's supporting you must at least be able to hide half the sky with his hand!" Zhao Manyan was on the verge of screaming.

"Brother, I really don't know who's supporting me. I came because that old man Han Ji ordered me to. Han Ji is the President of the Clock Tower Magic Association. Is he authoritative enough?" Mo Fan asked.

"President of the Clock Tower Magic Association… he's definitely something, but still not powerful enough to ignore the other factions and put you on the team. Someone even more powerful must be pulling the strings behind him to clear you a path," Zhao Manyan judged.

"Then I guess I've never met the person. Of the people I know, Zhu Meng has the highest authority, and Han Ji is already slightly higher than him. I really don't know anyone else." Mo Fan could not remember anyone that could fit the description.

"I believe it should be someone comparable to the chief of the Royal Guards, Pang Lai; someone at the level of Protector of the Nation. Well, if they are pulling the strings behind, it means they have high hopes for you. They don't want to change your way of becoming stronger… maybe they have their eyes on you after what you did in the Ancient Capital? By the way, I heard someone mention that there was a fire demon fighting the Mountain Zombie during the calamity at the Ancient Capital. Did you see the fire demon? Was it a Magician, or something else?" Zhao Manyan asked eagerly.

"I didn't see anything like that in the Qin Emperor's Tomb," Mo Fan blurted out.

"Oh… wait, what Qin Emperor's Tomb?"

"Nothing, you won't believe it even if I told you." Mo Fan was too lazy to explain the series of events at the Ancient Capital.

The details of the calamity of the Ancient Capital were kept confidential. Zhao Manyan had lots of sources to provide him with information, but he still could not learn much about the calamity in the Ancient Capital.