Edited by Aelryinth

When Mo Fan returned to the coach, Tao Jing stared at him with a confused face. She finally asked, "What were you doing?"

"Practicing my spell, but it's nothing like I imagined," Mo Fan sighed.

"You seem pretty diligent, yet why is your cultivation not that impressive?" Tao Jing had to ask.

"Maybe I just look diligent. Many times, I only went somewhere with fresh air and beautiful ladies to take a nap," Mo Fan laughed.

"..." Tao Jing was left speechless. He had somehow even complimented her when he was describing himself as lazy.

"See, Tao Jing, I already told you that you should be careful of people who show up out of nowhere and try to get closer to you. They might have some ulterior motives. You shouldn't invite people like him again!" Zhou Donghao spoke up quickly.

Tao Jing could not care less about him. Mo Fan glanced at Zhou Donghao and shook his head speechlessly.

A person with such a low EQ like him should not even bother trying to flirt with women. She only saw him as an acquaintance, yet he was already trying to control her with his male chauvinism. It would be ridiculous if Tao Jing was fond of someone like him!

Inner qualities mattered. A man should be gentle and considerate, like him! Otherwise, why would Tao Jing take the initiative to invite him, instead of someone else?

---

Dingcheng had been famous for a long time. It was the most influential Earth Element city after Lhasa. Many Earth Mages had gathered here.

Mo Fan was only a primary school student when it came to the Earth Element. He obediently followed the arrangement of the seniors of the Earth Element Club. He politely and humbly entered the city that had been completely built up using a kind of gray-white rock.

It was not a residential city, but a military fortress. It did not have many forms of public transports like a normal city, and even the buildings were constructed with wood and stone. There was no sign of the reinforced glass, windows, elevators, and air-conditioners that were common in a city.

Only Mages were allowed to enter a military fortress. Normal people, including merchants, were not allowed to enter. It was not discrimination against them, but because there was a chance for a military fortress to be invaded by demon creatures at any second. Normal people would not be able to protect themselves!

After the coach made its slow way into the city, Mo Fan realized the city was a lot bigger than he had imagined. It had even broken the mold when choosing a suitable place to build a city. It was built on a mountain, instead of a flatland!

Mo Fan could see the entire side of the city from his angle, but from afar, it looked like the buildings were irregularly placed around a huge rocky mountain. It was both messy and in order. It was a strange sight, indeed!

"It's just like people have described it!" Mo Fan exclaimed when he saw it better.

The city played an important role in the country, since it provided supplies of stone and Earth Element resources to a lot of cities. As the sea level rose, many headquarter cities had to set up their defenses and build long dams, greatly increasing the demand for stone supplies. Dingcheng had become a super factory, supplying the cities along the coastline with stone. Huge trucks were constantly heading north and south to deliver the supplies. Some described Dingcheng as the Stone Heart of China. Mo Fan could not help but agree with them after seeing it in person.

The city was indeed like a huge pounding heart, pumping blood to the rest of the country!

"Strange, why are there so many soldiers in the city?" Lin Qihui asked, looking confused.

"People are crowding at the entrance. Is there a queue to enter the city?"

Mo Fan went down the bus and saw the city gates were no longer allowing vehicles to drive inside. As a matter of fact, the vehicles were struggling to go anywhere, since the entrance was crowded with people!

"Why aren't we allowed to enter the city? We've been living here for a long time! Is this how the military is going to treat us Hunters!?" a Mage dressed like a Hunter shouted angrily.

"Yeah, so what if we aren't Earth Mages? We've never heard of any cities that ban other Elements!"

The noise kept growing. It was obvious that these people were trying to enter the city, yet the military had a strange order that denied their entry.

"A passage for Earth Mages? Over here, we can take this!"

"There's no queue here!"

Zhou Donghao found another entrance into the city. He quickly called the others over.

Everyone on the coach was an Earth Mage, hence they successfully entered the city after some checking. The Hunters were even more displeased after seeing how the Earth Mages were treated.

However, the military was very strict with the order. The Hunters did not dare cross the line. They could not do anything but complain at the entrance.

Mo Fan was confused as he watched the people who had been stopped at the gates.

Why was the city stopping Mages with other Elements from coming inside? Wasn't the Magic Association going to say something about it? The Magic Association was just as powerful as the military!

"There's another checkpoint?" Tao Jing blurted out.

There were Battlemages standing in a straight line along the passage they had entered. They had an imposing bearing, like they were going to execute them on the spot if they dared to do anything reckless!

"You will have to comply with the rules once you enter the city," a Battlemaga with a high rank stated.

"What are the rules?" Lin Qihui asked, at a loss now. He did not remember it being so complicated to enter the city. It used to be a free city with not many rules, mainly consisting of Hunters and people that had come for training. It was rare to see the military here, but somehow, it felt like the military had taken over now!

The Battlemaga did not answer Lin Qihui's question. She pointed at the Element Banning Order on the board beside her, telling the group to read it themselves.

Announcement!

The city has been promoted to a first-tier Rock City. Starting from midnight on the first day of the month, the city will activate the first-tier city barrier. During the process, Elements other than the Earth Element will disrupt the stability of the barrier, hence the city has implemented an Elements Banning Order to ensure that the barrier is formed successfully.

All Mages without the Earth Element are not allowed to enter the city!

All Mages will have to seal away Elements other than the Earth Element!

"What kind of rules are these? Why have I not heard of them before!?" Lin Qihui yelled.

"You have never heard of them because you are ignorant. It's standard procedure when a city is forming its barrier, preventing other Elements from disrupting the process. Otherwise, all the efforts put in to set up the barrier will be in vain!" the Battlemaga said impatiently.

"Senior, I think we learned that from the textbooks in primary schools," Tao Jing spoke up softly.

"Seriously?" Lin Qihui blinked.

"It's true, it's necessary to ban other Elements when a city barrier is activated for the first time. Most cities set up their barriers in the past, so it's rare to encounter a situation like this nowadays," Tao Jing nodded.

"How unfortunate, the city just had to be promoted to an Elemental Capital during our trip!" Lin Qihui grumbled.

"The situation along the coastline is grim. The demand for stone is significantly higher than supply, so cities like this are playing an important role. It's only a matter of time before the military takes over. Luckily, the military didn't ban everyone from entering the city. Otherwise, we would have to go back!"