Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan purposely paid Pang Lai a visit to express his gratitude.

Jiang Yu knocked on the door to explain their purpose of visit, yet Pang Lai told Jiang Yu to leave in a demanding tone.

"Forget it, master is probably dealing with something urgent. Let's wait in the garden; I can tell you more about the treasure hunt, too." Jiang Yu asked someone to get them some drinks.

Mo Fan glanced at the door that was tightly shut. He was intrigued by Pang Lai's tone. Even if he was busy with something, it did not explain why he sounded so serious.

Mo Fan did not overthink it. He proceeded to discuss the treasure hunt with Jiang Yu. It was very important to Mo Fan, and it was also an opportunity for the members of the national team to grow stronger, too. There were times when an ordinary student turned into the brightest stars in the tournament with the loot they found during the treasure hunt. No one could possibly tell what was going to happen during the treasure hunt!

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In the locked room, Pang Lai sat on a cushion and looked at the old man with a scarred face sitting opposite to him with a stern expression.

"Old friend, please help me. I'm only here because I'm left with no choice," the old man with a scar pleaded.

"How do you expect me to help? Look at the things you did, and the solid proof that the Holy Judgment Court has found… you're seriously out of your mind. You already had a great reputation, and your power and fame were unmatched... why would you do such a thing? You've really let your old friends down!" Pang Lai snapped coldly.

"They have yet to deliver the evidence to the Holy Judgment Court. You have to help me..." the old man said.

"Are you insane!? Essendale, how did you end up like this? You didn't even show the slightest hint of remorse! Do you know how remorseful Yingcan was for the rest of his life after the stupid decision he made? Look at the consequences of his mistake! The Calamity of Bo City, the Calamity of the Ancient Capital… there's no way Salan will forgive you. Just surrender yourself, for the sake of your clan and your descendants, it's the only favor that the rest of us can do for you! Save some dignity for yourself, and think about your descendants! There's no escape for you!" Pang Lai said to Essendale sternly.

"It's a matter of viewpoint! It's not like I've done anything wrong! I admitted that I picked the wrong candidate, and I've done inhumane things on her behalf, but wasn't that how it always is? The election might look sacred and noble on the surface, but it's as filthy as a river of blood!" Essendale protested.

"Do you really think the things you did are just 'inhumane'? Old friend, you've really crossed the line, I can't stand watching you any longer! If you aren't willing to surrender yourself, I guess I'll have to deliver you to the Holy Judgment Court myself!" Pang Lai's eyes flickered sharply.

Essendale immediately rose to his feet. A dark aura immediately burst out of his body and filled the room!

Pang Lai did not think that Essendale was already on guard. It was impossible to detain the man once he got the upper hand. "Do you really just think about only yourself?"

"I don't want to die, and I don't want to be locked in the Underworld Prison like Wen Tai..." The dark aura emitted by Essendale grew stronger.

Pang Lai was unable to move. The dark aura was locking him down like countless chains of black dragons. Pang Lai was suppressed before he could cast a single spell.

Pang Lai let out a sigh, looking at Essendale.

"There must be a way, there must be… I don't want you to continue down the wrong path."

---

Out in the garden, Mo Fan who was chatting with Jiang Yu when he suddenly sensed an overwhelming presence of darkness coming from the room. For an instant, Mo Fan thought the Ruler of the Dark had descended upon the place! He could feel his skin crawling!

Mo Fan turned around and stared at the room.

At the same time, the door was shoved open. An old man with a scarred face walked out. He glanced at Mo Fan and Jiang Yu briefly before leaving the place.

Jiang Yu was stunned for a moment. He immediately rose to his feet when he saw the room was filled with an overwhelming dark energy and quickly hurried over.

Mo Fan glanced into the room too. He saw Pang Lai sitting in the darkness like a statue, unable to move.

Mo Fan turned after the old man, but he had already disappeared. He did not just disappear because he had turned a corner, but he had already vanished a fair distance away!

It was the Fleeing Shadow, but the man's Fleeing Shadow was crazier than Blink! Mo Fan could not detect a single trace of him.

"Master, master, are you alright?" Jiang Yu hurriedly went up to Pang Lai.

The energy restraining Pang Lai soon dissipated. The old man covered in the dark energy started coughing with a helpless face.

Mo Fan glanced at Pang Lai. It was obvious that Pang Lai had lost in the short confrontation with the old man. Mo Fan was utterly shaken. Who was that old man, that even Pang Lai was not his worthy opponent?

Pang Lai let out a long sigh. He simply ignored Jiang Yu's question and sat there, thinking.

Mo Fan had no clue what had happened, and it was obvious that Pang Lai was not in the mood to talk.

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On the day of the treasure hunt, the whole world was shaken by a piece of news.

A world-famous Shadow Mage named Essendale was pronounced guilty, and the Holy Judgment Court had placed a bounty on his head, dead or alive!

Mo Fan heard everyone discussing it when he arrived at the venue. Everyone was left in awe by the news!

Essendale, a Mage that was ranked higher than Pang Lai; the true Master of the Shadow Element!

To Mo Fan's great surprise, it was Essendale that had generously donated the Dark Noble Mantle as a reward to be given to the national teams!

Mo Fan had heard his name a couple of times. A Mage of his level was on par with the leaders of his country; it was hard to imagine that such a person had suddenly become a serious criminal!

"It's said that the Holy Judgment Court has conclusive evidence; they won't allow Essendale to rebut the accusation," Jiang Yu said.

"No wonder your master looked so down; he had already guessed the outcome!" Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan had only learned that the person able to trap Pang Lai the other day was the Master of the Shadow Element, Essendale, when the news broke out. However, he had no clue what they were talking about.

"Speaking of which, considering how strong Essendale is, and if even your master was no match for him, will the Holy Judgment Court really be able to catch him if he's serious about running away? The master of the Shadow Element... I doubt if anyone in this world can really catch him," Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan also possessed the Shadow Element, so he clearly knew how outstanding the Element was when it was used to run away. There was no chance that they could catch someone like Essendale without the help of Forbidden Mages!

"Who knows, but it's hard to imagine that someone like him would do something so unforgiving. I heard that it has something to do with a Candidate, I wonder who it could be..."

"Will the treasure hunt be postponed because of it?"

"It's hard to say, it's just too great a bit of news for now."

The incident was expected to affect the World College Tournament to a certain degree. The treasure hunt was postponed for two days, just so it did not take place on the same day that Essendale was pronounced guilty.

People would soon be distracted by other news, and would forget about something that happened before.

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However, Essendale's influence was greater than everyone thought. The news remained a headline across the world even after two days, and apparently, the Candidate that was related to the incident had gone missing, too.

Mo Fan did not really care much about the things that happened in the rest of the world. He only cared about the treasure hunt for now.

The treasure hunt took place as scheduled. Sixteen countries were disqualified in the first round, so only the sixteen countries that were left would participate in the treasure hunt.

---

The participants were told to gather at the same stadium where the opening ceremony was held, but unlike before, it was filled with magic ores, all with a silver gleam to them.

The silver ores were arranged in a formation. Mo Fan could clearly sense the energy of the Space Element lingering in the air.

"A Space Magic Formation; it seems like they are going to teleport us to the actual venue!" Ai Jiangtu observed professionally.

"Such a huge Space Magic Formation, I wonder where it's going to teleport us to! Don't tell me it's the edge of the world?" Zhao Manyan's eyes were wide.

The magic formation was insanely huge. None of them knew where it was going to teleport them.

There were two kinds of Space Magic Formations. The first kind would teleport anyone that stepped into it to a random place. When Mo Fan and Asha'ruiya went to pay the Black Dragon Emperor a visit, Asha'ruiya was forced to set up such a space portal without a precise destination.

The other kind was a designated space portal that would teleport anyone that stepped through it to a certain place...

Many Space Mages had suggested setting up teleportation portals in the main cities across the world, just so the people could travel back and forth in a matter of seconds. However, realistically, it was not practical at all, as a portal with the ability to teleport someone across a long distance needed a vast amount of energy. In this world where humans and demon creatures never stopped competing for the scarce energy that was available, the energy it took to teleport a traveler was enough to train an outstanding Battlemage!

As such, only a grand occasion like the World College Tournament would be allowed to teleport students to the actual venue with a Space Magic Formation.

"I'll now explain the rules!" the main judged stepped forward and announced in English. "Sixteen countries, one hundred and sixty students will be teleported to random spots in the space set up for the treasure hunt. You will each end up in a different place, and as usual, you'll encounter all kinds of dangers and demon creatures, so you should be extremely careful while searching for the treasure! Even though we have assistant judges watching you inside, and will try our best to guarantee your safety with the help of the Eagle Eyes scattered across the place, there are chances that accidents will happen, so I hope you can stay calm and ask for help immediately. Don't lose your life because of your greed!"

"Finally, this here is a Scroll of Space. When you realize that your life is danger, fill the scroll with energy! It will activate in around four seconds, and teleport you back here with a space vortex. Again, safety first; don't do anything stupid!"