CHAPTER 32: DEATH PROTECT EQUIPMENT!

ORIGINAL Author: Chaos

SPINOFF Author: Vester

It was 6 in the morning. Mo Fan was told to report to the principal’s office right now. He was standing outside Principal Zhu’s office.

Yesterday night, after his talk in Zhankong’s cabin, Mo Fan went back to his dorm right after.

After returning to his room, he sat down and dived deep inside the edges of his Spiritual world! Now that his Mental Strength had increased a ton from prior, he was more than qualified to awaken more elements then he did before as his will and body was strong enough to handle the pressure from them.

He awakened Shadow Element, Chaos Element, Psychic Element, Undead Element, Earth Element, Sound Element & Curse Element!

He awakened such elements because he didn’t want to needlessly spend money on buying Spirit Grade Soul Seeds. It was only worth it to buy Soul Grade Soul Seeds because they actually made him stronger.

So, other than an element with a defensive property like the Earth Element, he deemed it not worth it, to awaken the rest of the Elements which required Souls Seeds.

Unfortunately, his Earth Element didn’t get an additional effect like it had before. But since he awakened all three Black Magic Elements, Shadow Element, Curse Element & Undead Element, they were boosted by the Spring of Darkness and even gained it's properties!

_With the current Little Loach’s properties, it will take around 8 months time to upgrade a single element to the peak of Basic level…_ Mo Fan pondered while fiddling with his pendant.

_With Bo City’s Totem Spring’s cultivation efficiency, I need only 2 or 2½ months to cultivate a single element to peak of Basic Level without Little Loach. But if I let little Loach absorb the Totem Spring and then cultivate, the efficiency and speed will drop by a lot like last time and it might take me around 4-5months per Element._

_Should I…_

“Mo Fan, come in” Before Mo Fan can complete his thoughts, he heard Principal Zhu’s voice echoing from inside his office.

Mo Fan went inside the office and noticed Principal Zhu and Tang Yue.

“Good Morning Principal Zhu & Ms. Tang Yue.” Mo Fan respectfully greeted them.

“Yes, good morning. You have done a great job Mo Fan. You have made me and this school proud! Not even once, since the day this school was founded were the students able to defeat a disciple of the renowned families. But you proved that even as a grassroot mage it is possible to do the impossible! You will be an example for many of the students of this school! Cultivate well in the Underground Holy Spring, you deserve it! Ms. Tang Yue will be your guide from our school.” Principal Zhu looked at Mo Fan as he said with great pride.

Mo Fan could see, Principal Zhu was genuinely happy for him.

“Thank you very much, Principal Zhu!” Mo Fan replied with a bow.

…

“It seems you’re happy~” Mo Fan said when he glanced at Tang Yue.

“How could I not be? My priced pupil’s abilities were finally acknowledged by everyone around him! It’s good to see you not being looked down at by other people!!” Tang Yue held Mo Fan’s arm.

Seeing her happy, Mo Fan was also happy. “Ms. Tang Yue, I’m going to graduate soon~ are you planning on sticking around till I graduate?” Mo Fan asked.

“Ah… I… might not be around till your college exams. I’m being transferred back to my…” She didn’t finish her sentence.

“Is that so…” Mo Fan knew about it, but he still didn’t liked the idea of being separated from her. Over the last two and a half years, they had became a lot closer.

Tang Yue noticed Mo Fan’s sad look, she didn’t feel good after making him sad right when he was about to go into seclusion.

She initiated the conversation and diverged the topic of her leaving and chatted their way along~ They purposely didn’t use any public transport and just walked around spending more time together.

Before they knew it, they were standing right in front of the Silver Commerce Tower.

The Underground Holy Spring was located beneath the Silver Commerce Tower.

This Silver Commerce Tower looked like a straight, towering pentagon. People described it as a skyscraper, but it looked like a big pentagonal tower that was located in the centre of Bo City.

The height of the Silver Commerce Tower was around fifty meters. The entire exterior was covered in reinforced glass. Beneath the sun, it looked like the tip of an unsheathed sword. When night fell, the entire tower would be filled with brilliant lights and vibrant colours. City areas in the distance were still able to see its swirling rainbow colours in the evening.

It was considered a symbolic structure of Bo City. It was said that the super big conference hall on the top floor belonged to Mu Zhuoyun.

And Bo City’s heavenly treasure, the Underground Holy Spring, was actually located beneath the Silver Commerce Tower. The white and gold collar workers within the Tower didn’t know that this place even had a fifteenth sub-floor!

“Mo Fan, have you decided on your University?” Tang Yue asked.

They both walked inside the automatic sliding glass door.

“Mhm, the Pearl Magic University of Shanghai!” Mo Fan replied.

“Heeh, Pearl University, huh~ Good Choice!” They had reached the reception desk.

“Good Morning, Sir, Ma’am. How may I help you?” The pretty receptionist asked.

“Tell Mu Zhuoyun, that Mo Fan is here.” Mo Fan said.

“O-oh! One moment, sir.” The receptionist was surprised seeing Mo Fan!

She knew that, a person named Mo Fan was going to come today to cultivate in the Underground Holy Spring, but she never thought the person coming to be so young and fresh. Normally the people who visit for the Underground Holy Spring are all middle aged adults.

After 5min Mu Zhuoyun came down!

“You Stupid Brat, why are you so early? It’s still 7:30am. You were supposed to come at 12noon.” Mu Zhuoyun hissed as soon as he saw Mo Fan.

“…”

...

An elevator that seemed like the ones from a secret services headquarters had taken Mo Fan down to the fifteenth sub-floor of the Tower. This place really looked like a secret organization; they had actually dug out a secret protective underground hall.

The Underground Hall was built using special elemental rocks. At one look, you could tell it came from the hands of a very credible construction master.

But the Underground Hall had only one patrol squad guarding the place. The patrol squad’s Captain was only an Intermediate Mage.

_Sigh… I can’t believe only an Intermediate Mage is guarding the entrance... The security here is shit!_ Mo Fan thought.

The Intermediate Mage’s cultivation was also not that good.

“Behind this door is the Holy Spring. You are allowed to enter for a period of one week to cultivate. The Holy Spring will maintain a cycle by itself, so don’t touch it. All you need to do is to sit in the middle of the Underground Holy Spring, on the leather mat.” Mu Zhuoyun was in a bad mood as he said this to Mo Fan.

This Underground Holy Spring was originally supposed to be taken by Yu Ang; who would’ve thought that it would be taken by this kid Mo Fan? How could Mu Zhuoyun’s mood be good at this time?

Accompanying Mo Fan here, Tang Yue slowly nodded to Mo Fan, hinting that he should go inside and enter his seclusion.

“Oh, wait I have something to give you,” Tang Yue said to Mo Fan as she thought of something.

“Something to give me?” Mo Fan was surprised.

Tang Yue took out a small orb glowing in rainbow coloured light which had a thin chain going through it from her Space Bracelet. It looked like an absolutely mesmerizing Pearl pendant.

Tang Yue looked at Mo Fan who was staring at the thing as if he was going to poke a hole through it. She chuckled a little.

She went near him, and slid her hands around his neck.

Mo Fan was startled and a little flustered. His ears turned red as he was able to feel Tang Yue’s breath on his colour bone.

He turned his head in a different direction and noticed Mu Zhuoyun snorting. It brought Mo Fan back to the ground again.

Tang Yue also stepped back after putting the chain on Mo Fan.

“A special gift for my special student.” Tang Yue said.

“…” Mo Fan didn’t say anything. He was embarrassed a little.

“Come on now hurry up and imprint your soul mark on it!” Tang Yue urged Mo Fan.

“Soul mark…! A Death Protect Equipment?!” Mo Fan exclaimed in surprise.

Similar to death strike equipment which generated unbelievable power but was a one off, a death protect equipment also protected the wearer from any one life threatening attack.

“Bingo~ I won’t be around anymore so… this will keep you safe.” Tang Yue said with a smile.

Mo Fan was touched. Judging by the Shine on it, it was a very high ranked equipment!

“Ms. Tang Yue, you really are magnanimous when you hand things out. This really is making me, a rich provincial, broaden my horizons.” Standing off to the side, Mu Zhuoyun immediately recognized the item Tang Yue was giving away, his face turning sour.

“For you, who is a genius among geniuses, there is simply no point in giving anything else related to Cultivation to you. Consider it my parting gift, Mo Fan.” Tang Yue said.

“Thank you very much, teacher Tang Yue.” Mo Fan said. He had so many things he wanted to say right now, he also wanted to hug her... but he refrained, as he was still a student and she was a teacher. Plus there were people around him.

“Mhm! Now go on!” Tang Yue pushed Mo Fan’s back.

Mu Zhuoyun was too lazy to look at the PDA of this idiot couple. He waved his hand to signal to the guards of the Underground Holy Spring to pull Mo Fan in and lock him inside.

…

“Pull yourselves together. Last time, the Colossal Eyed Ape Rat almost found this place. If the warm waters of the Underground Holy Spring were to leak out and attract calamity, then you guys will definitely be questioned!” the Captain of the guards, Liang Bin, shouted.

“Captain, don’t worry. That matter will definitely not happen again!” The other guards made a solemn vow.

…

After passing through a few erected archways, Mo Fan saw the Underground Holy Spring which was only a square-shaped, stone-stepped altar.

The stone altar had four layers. The very bottom one had a small hole that acted as a circuit channel. The clear Holy Spring water was practically transparent as it slowly flowed through the small stone channel.

“Shit! Just how much did they used it in the past.” Mo Fan cursed when he noticed the Totem Spring in this condition.

The Totem Spring of Bo City was very depleted! Right now, it could barely match the efficiency of Ye Xinxia’s Magic Cultivation Tool which Mo Fan gifted her.

“No wonder they’re allowing people only once a year and that too for only seven days… The cultivation efficiency is absolutely wonderful for Basic and Intermediate Mages no doubt, but it's simply horrible for an Advanced Mage!

Right now there’s only 10% of the original spring left, the rest of the 90% is depleted, thanks to the shitty Magic Formations and Seals...” Mo Fan was exasperated by the situation. He felt pure disdain for the people who were managing this place!

Mo Fan went and picked up some of the water in his palms. The spring was dense unlike the ordinary water and his palms were not wet even though they were carrying the spring water.

“At least it’s the same as the one I remember… thank god.” Mo Fan inspected the Totem Spring. It was the same as the one he knew of.

Just when he was about to sit down on the stone step altar and start cultivating, the Little Loach Pendant on his chest began to emit strange trills.

“I’m sorry but if you drink this I will bury you in the back mountains!” Mo Fan sternly scolded Little Loach. Last time it didn’t listened to Mo Fan and ate the Ruler Class Soul Essence. This time Mo Fan was not taking any chances.

He quickly used his Space Element and Summon Element’s fusion magic and made a small Dimensional Void Barrier which encapsulated Little Loach.

Little Loach tried to use it’s illusory Azure Light Rays but they could not leave the barrier. It was vibrating incessantly but it was of no use. After trying for 5min, it gave up and became quiet, when it knew it was not able to penetrate the barrier.

“I wasn’t called Magic God just for nothing you know? You may be at the Creator God Level but I have gone beyond it~ So just stay quiet like a good kid and I might let you eat some wonderful stuff later on~” Mo Fan said.

…

After the fiasco, Mo Fan sat down on the leather mat and began cultivation. He was able to feel pure energy gathering towards him, similar to the nourishment of the pendant.

The nourishment from the special spring was even stronger than Little Loach Pendant. It felt like his entire being was getting ready to fly.

“Hmm… My guess was right~ Two Months is all I need for my Basic Elements to reach their peak & if I combine this efficiency with Little Loach then, One Month is enough!”

“Let’s focus on my Intermediate Elements for two days and then for the rest of the five days I’ll focus on Undead Element and Earth Element only. These two elements are going to be quite useful 7days from now~”

…

A new guard who came not too long ago, Wang Tonglian, inquired of his commanding officer, “Captain Liang Bin, is this Underground Holy spring really that miraculous?”

“Our Bo City traces back a long time, even earlier than the Age of Qin Kingdoms. The Underground Holy Spring could be said to have survived up until now. Think about it, our Bo City doesn’t have economics, talents, nor development. So why are we a reputable city in the south? It is only because of the existence of the Underground Holy Spring. It could be said that without the Underground Holy Spring, our Bo City would at most be recognized as a village,” Guard Captain Liang Bin answered from his seat on the floor, his face tranquil.

“Dating from the Qin Kingdoms? Doesn’t that mean it has more than two thousand years of history?” the new guard asked, shocked.

“Exactly. As long as you’re not a naturally endowed, foolish, incurable Mage, then cultivating inside there for one hour would be equivalent to cultivating for three days on a normal day.” Liang Bin’s face couldn’t help but reveal some fascination.

“But Captain Liang, there are only a few people in Bo City who have entered Underground Holy Spring,” a guard to the side pointed out.

Liang Bin nodded. He could never forget about the time he had been in there to enjoy it for seven days. To people who thirsted for a greater power, that place felt even better than having a group of beauties assigned to you to ravage for seven days.

Furthermore, the Underground Holy Spring that was capable of assisting a breakthrough to Intermediate level also had a more subtle ability. If you were guarding it for the long term, even if it was separated by a restricted door, you were still able to receive some of its nourishment. Why else would he be willing to stay there?

“Captain Liang, the cavern tunnel that was dug by the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat has been found. This cavern tunnel looks extremely deep. We didn’t dare to go too deep in for now,” said a valiant and formidable-looking woman wearing a guard uniform.

The beautiful eyes of the female guard carried hints of valour. Paired with that tight white uniform, she commanded an unique charm.

“Vice Captain Lin Yuxin, you’re thinking too much. The Colossal-eyed Ape Rat is a commonly seen creature within Bo City, being able to dig all the way here through a complicated underground drain is also an occasional matter,” said the rookie guard Wang Tonglian.

Lin Yuxin creased her brow; it was very clear that she did not like how laid back this Wang Tonglian was.

“The Magic Association has already sent someone to investigate this, there was nothing particularly strange. It’s better if you just stop worrying,” Captain Liang said with a smile.

Lin Yuxin nodded, but it was evident that she didn’t loosen up after those words.

“I’ll take a look on the outside.” After Lin Yuxin finished speaking, she brought four guards along and left.

Everyone stared at Lin Yuxin’s attractive backside before they couldn’t help but shake their heads.

“Ever since Lin Yuxin’s sister had a close call with that Mingwen Girls Middle school building collapsing, she became even more stricter with her examinations.” Tan exclaimed as he sighed.

“I heard that it was done by a Colossal-eyed Ape Rat?”

“Perhaps, who knows.”

…

After Vice Captain Lin Yuxin had left the underground hall, her heart was still filled with worry.

When she found out that the Library building of Mingwen Girls Middle school collapsed, she had a heart attack! She knew her dearest little sister used to stay in the library till late in the evening, so it was a huge shock to her!

But when she found her sister who was completely oblivious to where she was or what had happened. She checked the cameras secretly to get to the truth of the matter and found out a very Strong Mage was fighting off a Warrior level Monster with her sister sleeping in his arms.

If it wasn’t for him, she would’ve been torn apart and eaten. Ever since then she has been extremely careful and stern and particularly thorough in her investigations! She had sent her sister to Ancient Capital Xi’an, where she will be relatively safe in such a big city!

Just yesterday, Lin Yuxin found something that was unusual within the caverns of the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat.

It was water.

Having water in the sewers was very normal. If someone else were to see this, they definitely wouldn’t think this was strange at all. However, in the eyes of a Peak Intermediate Level Water Mage with a Spirit Seed, that wasn’t just your normal water. Accurately speaking, the water was very similar to the waters of the Underground Holy Spring!

Why was the water of the Underground Holy Spring in the sewer tunnels?

This was something incredibly inconceivable. The Underground Holy Spring was being protected, even a drop was precious. However, when she investigated the sewer tunnels, the water was like a sewage flow as it was spread all over the quagmire, even as it was being drunk by the nasty rats and cockroaches.

Suspicious, Lin Yuxin specifically brought this water over to a specialist who researched substances. The researchers from the Research Union had told her that the results would come today.

Lin Yuxin walked to an empty place and saw it was nearly time to call the number of the researchers at the Magic Association.

“How is it, what did the results say?” Lin Yuxin asked after making her call.

“It is not the Underground Holy Spring,” the researcher calmly replied to her.

“I thought so,” Lin Yuxin nodded. It seemed like she was thinking too much.

“However, other than it not having the same special effects, its other qualities are very similar to the Underground Holy Spring,” the researcher continued.

“What does that mean? It’s possible to find a second Underground Holy Spring in this world?” Lin Yuxin was puzzled.

“The Underground Holy Spring is a Spirit Pond from Heaven and Earth. Other than it being clean, it is able to bring a great nourishment to cultivators and Monsters. This water that is similar to the Underground Holy Spring was also birthed from a special environment; however, it should have been affected by the darkness in its surroundings. The waters that you found are actually also capable of boosting the strength of cultivators and Monsters for a short period of time. The only difference is that this water seemed more like a stimulant; frantically absorbing the energy in the organism’s body. The creatures would turn crazy and irrational at the cost of their energy,” the researcher said sincerely.

Lin Yuxin was startled, as she had never heard of this kind of water existing in this world.

Could it be that this water was the cause of the originally vulgar and cowardly Colossal-eyed Ape Rats jumping out and harming people?

“There’s one more thing… but I hope I’m just thinking too much.” The researcher’s voice suddenly turned exceedingly solemn.

“What is it?”

“If you don’t drink this sewage water, then it could actually be passed off as Underground Holy Spring, as it has similar effects. At the very least, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between two of them within a day.”

Lin Yuxin felt a chill over her body.

Fake imitations as real?

This kind of water had inexplicably emerged within the tunnels dug by Colossal-eyed Ape Rats. A year ago, a Colossal-eyed Ape Rat almost dug through the location of Underground Holy Spring… was this really a coincidence?

“It could be a coincidence.” Lin Yuxin smiled rigidly, as she herself couldn’t believe that.

“I can only hope so… There’s going to be heavy rain, I’ll come to the Silver Commerce Tower to pick you up, you probably don’t have an umbrella,” the researcher said.

“I’m a Water Mage, would I still need an umbrella?” Lin Yuxin said.

“… Alright, let’s have dinner together tonight?”

“I don’t have time for that.”

“…”

Lin Yuxin hung up the phone with her forehead creased, there remained many doubts in her heart.