Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

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The headquarters of the Donghai Magic Association was in Gulangyu, close to the mouth of Min River. Not only was the lovely island in the south of China a famous attraction, it was also an authoritative sacred land of magic along the east coast. Since the Donghai Magic Association was directly affiliated with the Dubai Magician Tower representing the Magic Association of Asia, even the Dongfang Oriental Tower, which was considered the biggest Magic Association in the country, had no right to intervene with the Donghai Magic Association's business.

Even though the Donghai Magic Association was affiliated with the Dubai Magician Tower, it was still a local Magic Association. The cities along the east coast from the south of Hangzhou to the South China Sea were all under the jurisdiction of the Donghai Magic Association.

Currently, Gulangyu was temporarily off-limits to tourists. However, there were still many tourists and locals admiring the beauty of the island from the cruise ships around it. They could still see the flickering light of magic spells on the island, despite the barrier that was in place. The strong energy kept stirring up waves sweeping back at the ships, too.

"What's happening there?" someone asked.

"The tournament between the renowned clans. It's an annual event on Gulangyu. Clans like the Dongfang Clan, the Bai Clan, the Nanrong Clan, the Dali Clan, and the Lin Clan have all come," a Mage who had come to enjoy the bustling scene answered.

"Are they competing?"

"Isn't that obvious? Every renowned clan is very resourceful. They are using it as a way to decide the ownership of the resources available! For example, Yinyao Mountain in Nanling, the Languang Mines, the Huoguo Jungle, the Mijing Shoal… every single one of them is like a money-printing machine. It's more profitable for the government to distribute these natural resources to the renowned clans with their respective expertise. The government will then receive some dividends from the profits," the Mage explained.

"I see. Judging from the brilliance of the spells, most of the spells are in the Advanced Level. That's pretty intense. It's a pity that we can't really watch the duels from here. I wonder who's taking part in the duels."

"The Nanrong Clan is pretty strong this year. I believe they will end up claiming most of the resources. Haven't you heard? Someone found a huge Fragmented Crystal Vein to the south of Feiniao City. Lots of renowned clans are eager to get their hands on it..."

"Feiniao City? Wasn't the Fanxue Mountain established in Feiniao City? The place you mentioned sounds very close to Fanxue Mountain. Doesn't that mean the Fragmented Crystal Vein would belong to Fanxue Mountain instead?"

"Nonsense, the Fanxue Mountain is only a small clan. Even if the vein is within their territory, do you think a small lamb is able to compete with these savage wolves?"

"You're right, they are no match for the renowned clans."

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Inside Gulangyu, a huge crowd surrounded the dueling ground. A blue Water Curtain had encapsulated the entire stage. Gulangyu was not huge, nor was it sturdy. A single Super Spell could easily destroy half of the island if there was no protection.

Luckily, the headquarters of the Donghai Magic Association was established on the island a long time ago. Lots of magic formations and magic barriers were helping the island retain its spectacular appearance.

A strong blue tide knocked a fierce beast flying. The creature slammed into a man wearing bright-colored clothes. It put out the flames engulfing the man and knocked him flying too. He slammed into the edge of the barrier and fell feebly to the ground.

"The winner is Li Ling of the Dali Clan!"

Following the declaration of the judge, the handsome man who was controlling the tide on the stage smiled. He looked down at the man lying on the ground disdainfully and said, "I thought you were able to endure a few more hits, but you're just as useless as the others!"

"You... don't you dare say a word further!" Mu Linsheng snapped furiously.

The members of Fanxue Mountain hurried over and helped Tian Tingbu, who was severely injured, down from the stage.

"If it wasn't for the fact that a part of the Fragmented Crystal Vein happens to be in your territory, do you really think a small clan like you has the right to be sitting here with the rest of the renowned clans? Some people only learn where they belong after they are taught a lesson," Li Ling answered with a calm face.

He acted as if defeating a minor character like Tian Tingbu, who was representing Fanxue Mountain, was nothing to be proud of.

"I'll do it..." Mu Ningxue's gaze sharpened. She had decided to take part in the duel.

"No, that won't do, you are the head of our Fanxue Mountain. It's inappropriate for you to take part in the duel. Besides, if you involve yourself against someone like Li Ling, it will only indicate that our Fanxue Mountain is inferior to them," Mu Linsheng denied her.

The renowned clans would only send out the younger generations to participate in the duels. The older generations mainly consisted of Advanced Mages, and even Super Mages. If they went all out in the duels, the island would most likely sink. Besides, the Magic Association also strictly forbade Mages above the age of thirty from dueling one another!

Tian Tingbu had joined the Fanxue Mountain not long after it was established. He was considered strong for his age, but he was still no match for Li Ling. He could not even endure a single spell from Li Ling.

"Ningxue, I know you are eager to expand your Fanxue Mountain, but I don't think you are going to get anywhere by recruiting these weaklings. Most of the renowned clans spent many years to reach their current level. I doubt your Fanxue Mountain will receive an official invitation from the Donghai Magic Association to join the annual meeting anytime soon." Nanrong Ni was seated only two seats away from Mu Ningxue.

In the past, Nanrong Ni had always disguised herself as a gentle, compassionate girl. She would rarely utter harsh words to hurt others. As a matter of fact, Nanrong Ni would normally behave herself, too. She was able to win over the support of more people from her clan after the World College Tournament. However, Nanrong Ni felt like there was no need for her to wear the mask whenever she was around Mu Ningxue.

She sounded like she was giving a friend a piece of advice, yet the disdain and mockery in her words were blatant.

Mu Ningxue did not expect to stumble into Nanrong Ni at the annual meeting between the renowned clans that the Donghai Magic Association had organized. She felt more uncomfortable when she saw how every renowned clan was mocking and treating Fanxue Mountain... They all knew Mu Ningxue had established her own clan to oppose the Mu Clan. In other words, she was basically leading her members to their grave!

"Mu Ningxue, since the representatives of your clan have lost, you no longer have a say in the ownership of the Fragmented Crystal Vein," the person in charge of the meeting was Lin Ze, an elder of the Donghai Magic Association.

An Elder of a Magic Association was similar to the role of a Councilman. Their actual status was dependent on the level of the Magic Association.

An Elder of the Oriental Pearl Tower was equivalent to a Councilman of the country.

An Elder of the Donghai Magic Association was slightly inferior to a Councilman of the country, but in some cases, their power was higher than a Councilman when it came to managing Mages and renowned clans.

"I don't think it has anything to do with the outcome of the duels. According to the rules of our country's Magic Association regarding the ownership of a newly discovered vein, 70% of it belongs to the government and the Magic Association, 10% belongs to the organization that discovered it, and 20% belongs to the owner of the land where the vein was discovered. Even if we've lost the duel, it doesn't make any sense that we are not getting anything from it!" Mu Linsheng snapped.

"First of all, we are the Donghai Magic Association; the rules of the Oriental Pearl Tower are none of our concern. We only obey the rules of the Donghai Magic Association. Second, your people aren't the ones that discovered the Fragmented Crystal Vein. Third, you are not a renowned clan, so you are not worthy to be competing for its ownership. You are only lucky that part of the vein is within your territory, so you were invited here to discuss the matter. Unfortunately, you have lost in the fair duel..." Lin Ze replied expressionlessly.

The representatives of the other renowned clans nodded in agreement. As long as Fanxue Mountain was forced to give up on the crystal vein, each of the renowned clans would have a share in it. Imagine the money that the crystal vein would give them every year!

"Fair? You dare say it's fair when you are challenging a newly established clan to a duel!?" Mu Linsheng said furiously.

"You can only blame yourself for being incompetent!" Li Ling grinned.

"Humph, it's obvious that you are colluding with one another to pick on us so you could claim the ownership of the ore vein!" Mu Linsheng pointed at the detestable representatives of the renowned clans.

Nanrong Ni giggled upon seeing Mu Linsheng's reaction. She whispered to Mu Ningxue, "Where did you even find this man who only knows how to throw a tantrum to manage your clan? If he was smart, he would have told you that there's no chance you can compete with us."

Mu Ningxue looked at Nanrong Ni. She had an urge to vomit right on the b**ch's face.

Nanrong Ni was pleased to see Mu Ningxue keeping quiet.

Mu Tingying had gotten the most attention during the World College Tournament. As a result, both Nanrong Ni and Mu Tingying were left to rot in a corner.

Luckily, Mu Ningxue had chosen a dead-end by establishing her own clan. Nanrong Ni was quite worried that she would end up joining a formidable renowned clan. That way, she would have had a hard time picking on Mu Ningxue.

"I'll take him on," a woman said calmly as Fanxue Mountain was being picked on.

It was not like the Fanxue Mountain had no competent representatives. They could easily send out Liu Ru to beat the crap out of every young Mage that the other renowned clans had. However, Liu Ru was not allowed to take part in the duels because of her awkward identity!

Mu Ningxue thought it was Liu Ru that spoke, as she could no longer just stand and watch these people picking on the Fanxue Mountain. To Mu Ningxue's surprise, it was Shao Yu who spoke up.

Shao Yu was Shao Ru's actual name. She had gone to Fanxue Mountain after leaving Yantai with one goal in mind: challenging Mu Ningxue to a duel!

Mu Ningxue was clearly one of the strongest Maga among the younger generations in their country. There were lots of people who were interested in challenging her to a duel, but she ended up rejecting all of them. However, Mu Ningxue did not reject Shao Yu's challenge, but asked her to wait until the end of the annual meeting between the renowned clans.

Shao Yu had nothing else to do for the time being, hence she had followed Mu Ningxue to Gulangyu to attend the meeting instead.

Even Shao Yu was disgusted by how the renowned clans were picking on Fanxue Mountain!

"But you're not one of us," Mu Ningxue said quietly.

"Just act like I am for now. If I lose against you later, I wouldn't mind joining Fanxue Mountain," Shao Yu replied.