Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The lecturers would receive bonuses if the feedback from the students on an excursion was positive. Mo Fan's group had received a bonus of a thousand gold on top of the base payment of two thousand and five hundred gold. They now had a capital of three thousand and five hundred gold!

However, they were still ranked at the bottom, as they expected. After all, they were meant to profit from the classes on magic theory. It was almost a miracle that Mo Fan had lost money from his class.

The lecturers of other factions were already betting on magic duels. Brianca's faction had earned a fortune by abusing Brianca's reputation in her classes, but First Prince Beny's faction had reclaimed the first spot after winning bets on multiple magic duels in a row.

The faction in third place was the Institute of Liberty from New York. It had a reputable lecturer on magic duels, Nelson. Their other classes were not popular, but their classes on magic duels were always full. Not only did they earn a lot from these classes, they had been winning many magic duels too.

"Damn it, we worked so hard to organize a trip, yet we only earned twenty-five hundred gold from it. Meanwhile, these people are earning one or two thousand just from a single duel. How crazy were the bets?" Zhao Manyan grumbled.

How dangerous were the Mountain Men? They had only earned a few thousand gold, even with a hundred percent positive rating from their customers, yet if a duel managed to get a lot of attention from the students, the stakes could even go as high as ten thousand gold! The factions involved in these bets would then earn a few thousand gold. They no longer had any motivation to spend too much of their time on the excursions.

"Do we have any students that are good at fighting?" Mo Fan asked.

The other factions were earning crazy money with their students. The three of them could not afford to be left behind either. After all, having huge capital meant they could rent a bigger venue, more advanced equipment, and even set up a strong magic barrier. Sometimes, a big class in the Aorus Sacred Institute was crazier than the concert of a well-known celebrity!

"There's one. He's pretty strong. We can ask him to be our candidate," Zhao Manyan said.

"Are you familiar with him?"

"Didn't we split up after crossing the Earthworm Gully? I had around twenty students with me. We weren't just harassed by the Mountain Men, but we also stumbled into a bunch of Mountain Ridge Beasts that were drinking water nearby. Five of the students got lost when the Mountain Ridge Beasts showed up, but a student called Ritchie managed to clear a way and brought the other four back," Zhao Manyan said.

"By the way, Star Palaces aren't allowed in the duels, so even if our opponents have students at the Super Level, we still have a chance to win against them," Mu Bai reminded them.

Super Spells were too destructive to be used in magic duels. Most barriers could not withstand the power of a Star Palace, let alone the Mages who were involved in the duel. The duel between Mo Fan and Zu Xiangtian had been held far away from the spectators in an abandoned part of a city!

"That's good news. There must be students at the Super Level in the student union. It's a little unfair if they could use their Super Spells in the duels," Mo Fan said.

"Ask Ritchie to meet us. We'll also pick a few others who are reliable."

A solo duel was more about how Elements countered one another, so it was not too exciting to watch compared to team battles, unless it was a duel between two reputable students. After all, not everyone in the world could reach Mo Fan or Zu Xiangtian's level!

Zhao Manyan asked the student called Ritchie to meet them, but they were greeted by something unexpected.

"Lecturers, the Institute of Liberty has invited me to be their forward. They promised to give me five hundred gold for every match regardless of the outcome," Ritchie informed them with a polite smile. He added, "As a matter of fact, I wasn't planning to join your excursion in the first place, but my points for excursions aren't enough, so I just randomly picked one."

"Ritchie, it's saddening to hear that," Zhao Manyan sighed.

"Lecturer Zhao Yanzu, you are an outstanding lecturer. You managed to protect so many students while being attacked by so many demon creatures, but the results of the duels are important for our reputation. I want to join the main party of the student union, and once I make a name for myself, I would like to visit China..." Ritchie said.

"Why China?" Zhao Manyan was confused.

"Aren't you from China? There's a strong fighter in China called Mo Fan who won the World College Tournament. Many people consider him the strongest young Mage in the world, and he also beat a famous young Judicator in Europe, Zu Xiangtian, so I want to challenge him on behalf of the Aorus Sacred Institute's student union. I heard he's accepting anyone's challenge at Fanxue Mountain!" Ritchie exclaimed.

"..."

Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai were left speechless. It turned out that Mo Fan was the person Ritchie wanted to challenge the most!

Mo Fan's head hurt. It seemed like his boast had spread all the way to the Americas!

However, if Ritchie was not on their team, their students would be like a sheet of loose sand. The three of them were not close with the student union, unlike most other factions.

Sharjah was supposed to be the strongest student since she was the president, but she had clearly told them not to ask for her help with the magic duels!

"Ritchie, you have no idea. That Mo Fan you want to beat is actually our disciple. We have taught him a lot about magic dueling. Wasn't he on the national team? We are mentors of the national team too," Zhao Manyan mentioned when he saw Ritchie was going to leave.

Ritchie halted in his tracks. "Is that true?" Ritchie's eyes glittered.

"Every single word of it!" Zhao Manyan quickly signaled Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was still absent-minded, but he reacted quickly when Ritchie looked at him. He inquired thoughtfully, "How much do you know about Mo Fan?"

"I know a lot about him. I even watched the World College Tournament. His Lightning and Fire Elements are very impressive!" Ritchie smiled.

"Oh, so you've watched the World College Tournament. That's great… Ritchie, you should know that the Sky Lightning Claw is one of Mo Fan's strongest moves. Check out my Sky Lightning Claw: Descent of the Demons!" Mo Fan curled his finger.

Mo Fan flipped his hand. His fingers were emitting dark lightning even though he did not construct a Star Constellation. Instantly claws of lightning were flickering across the sky around fifty meters above the training ground, as if enraged demons were trying to tear the sky apart!