Versatile Mage

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The people of Anjiao Town were safe and sound. It was a great relief amid all the misfortune.

Unfortunately, the Council still decided to forfeit the plan to construct a city in the desert. The army in the west was being withdrawn from the fortress. They were told to help the government evacuate the people from the fortress.

Mo Fan was well aware of the efforts that the army had put in, but the decision of the Council was reasonable, too. The Sandstorm Demon Locusts were beyond their expectations. They were different from demon creatures hidebound by convention. The Sandstorm Demon Locusts were evolving, just like humans. He could not help but wonder if the Sandstorm Demon Locusts had an intelligent leader that was bold enough to seek new hope amid the destruction. If every demon creature was the same, many human cities would be overrun. After all, despite being one of the smartest species in the world, many humans were at a standstill and resting on their laurels.

The fortress was being evacuated. The people were most likely going to move to the cities they were assigned to. What happened next was no longer Mo Fan’s concern. He believed the people of Anjiao Town and the rest of the towns would be safe with someone like Advisor Shao in charge.

Mo Fan did not keep the Earth Pistil to himself, returning it to Advisor Shao. Mo Fan was not shameless enough to keep the thing to himself out of greed after seeing how selfless Advisor Shao was. However, something beyond Mo Fan’s control still happened. The energy in the Earth Pistil that Shi Qianshou had replenished with the lives of his men was accidentally absorbed by the Essence Orb.

The Essence Orb was very interested in energy obtained from shady methods. Mo Fan could not stop the Essence Orb from doing as it pleased. Luckily, Advisor Shao did not think the energy was obtained by a proper method. The hatred it possessed was just too strong, so she would find some other ways to replenish the energy of the Earth Pistil.

A third of the Essence Orb was refilled. It was definitely a piece of good news for Mo Fan!

Mo Fan felt like his body was left hollowed out after he had used the Demon Element previously. He would be unable to use the Demon Element for some time. On top of that, the Holy Judgment Court had banned him from using it. Mo Fan believed it was necessary to fill up the Essence Orb again. Otherwise, if someone from the Black Vatican suddenly showed up, or Izisha, who held a huge grudge against him, sent a powerful assassin after him, wouldn’t he have no chance of protecting himself?

Mo Fan was not worried that Izisha would try to harm Xinxia, since she had already sworn a curse on her soul to prevent her from directly or indirectly inflicting any harm on Xinxia. The other half of the contract was in Old Bao’s possession. As long as Izisha had no intention of being imprisoned for a thousand years, she was restrained from trying to harm Xinxia.

But was Izisha really content with that outcome? Mo Fan believed otherwise.

The woman had suffered great losses, but once she recovered her influence, she was obviously going to pick on him first.

And there was Salan, too…

Izisha was out in the clear. There were people watching her every move, so it would be difficult for her to try anything. It was not easy for her to send someone after Mo Fan.

The same restrictions did not apply to Salan. He was perfectly safe in China, since he had plucked out her fangs in his homeland, but as soon as he left the country, the vicious woman would do anything to take his life. She knew the Demon Element would not be available for some time, which meant now was the perfect time for her to take him out!

“I should just stay in the country while filling up the Essence Orb!” Mo Fan was relieved when he saw a third of the Essence Orb had been refilled.

He sighed, “I can’t just keep relying on the Demon Element. It’s better if I can become stronger. I’m only lucky that I was able to defeat Shi Qianshou. A Super Mage is just too strong for me to handle now… but once I become a Super Mage, I should be able to go anywhere as I please. I will no longer have to worry about the two Women of Black and White Impermanence.”

{TL Note: Black and White Impermanence are two deities in Chinese folk religion that are said to be in charge of escorting the spirits of the dead to the underworld. As the name suggested, they are dressed in black and white respectively.}

The Women of Black and White Impermanence were the nicknames Mo Fan came up with for Salan and Izisha.

The Woman of Black Impermanence obviously referred to Salan, while Izisha was the Woman of White Impermanence. They both had listed his cool name of Mo Fan at the very first line of the first page in their ‘Death Notes’!

—

—

Huge amounts of snow were covering a little hut by an icy lake, like a giant mink coat made of swan feathers. The wind was knocking on the window and the door. The frost-covered woods kept crackling, as if they were going to collapse at any second.

The wind and snow were landing on a cold face. The woman raised her hand and snatched an icicle from the roof, before stabbing the knee of a man lying on the ground.

The ice punctured the kneecap. The man cried out in pain, his voice echoing across the lake.

“You are quite devoted to the Cold Prince, but it seems like you don’t really understand who I am. Otherwise, why would you dare to set me up with your master?” The woman moved a chair closer and sat in front of the man. His blood was pouring out of his knee, but it soon froze in the cold as she sat there with her legs crossed.

“Master Salan, it’s all a misunderstanding, we had no idea she was related to you, I swear…” the man exclaimed. His tears and nasal mucus had mixed together, but they soon froze too.

The man was well aware that the pain he was feeling was only just the beginning. If he did not satisfy the woman with his answers, he would have to endure a hundred times the pain and torture that he was currently going through.

“I don’t really care if you’re trying to use her. She was never my concern, but I can’t accept that you’re using my name just to achieve something so petty. Many people in the world are waiting for my next masterpiece, and you guys almost destroyed the reputation I’ve worked hard to build in China. Now, tell me what you know, and perhaps I’ll allow the Cold Prince to come retrieve your corpse in one piece.” The woman took out a carving knife and began to trim her nails indifferently.

“I really don’t know anything, the Cold Prince never told me anything! Master Salan, we never meant to offend you, we were just trying to control Izisha and the Parthenon Temple…” the man tearing up in fear exclaimed.

“Idiot, do you seriously think the likes of you are smart enough to control Izisha? Do you think you would still be alive today if she wanted you dead?” Salan kicked the top of the icicle stuck in the man’s knee.

“Master Salan, I’m begging you, please spare my life. I’m just following orders. The plan that I had with the Cold Prince was never meant to set you up…” The man was trembling in pain as he spoke.

“Be gone, tell the Cold Prince to give me the thing he took from the Sacred Hall of Liberty, and I’ll consider sparing your life,” Salan gave a powerful kick to the man’s knee.

The man’s knee broke instantly. He did not dare stay in the hut a second further, despite the incredible pain he was in. He crawled out of the hut, afraid that the woman would suddenly change her mind.

The man left a long trail of blood on the frozen lake as he crawled slowly into the distance.

—

Salan sat inside the hut watching him go. She spoke even though it seemed empty, “What do you think?”

“It does seem like the Cold Prince was trying to control the Parthenon Temple,” a voice appeared out of nowhere from the shadow in a corner.

The man had been completely unaware of the person’s existence. Even if he was to look closely, he would only see a blurry silhouette.

“You’re considering it too superficially. The Cold Prince would never have the guts to interfere with my business,” Salan said.

“You’re saying that someone is behind the Cold Prince? But he’s a Red Cardinal, who could possibly order him around…” the man paused for a moment, “It’s… the Supreme Pontiff!”

Salan did not speak. She scratched the surface of the frozen table with her nails.

“Why would the Supreme Pontiff do that?”

“Perhaps he realized the two of us are beyond his control. The things he has put all his effort into have gradually turned into his threats,” Salan said calmly. “He gave me the name of Salan while trying to make that girl a Saintess, but in the end, people are falling to their knees in front of me, and Ye Xinxia has also noticed he’s trying to pull strings.”

“I bet the Supreme Pontiff never expected Izisha to come back to life…”

“Mm, Izisha always likes to be the oriole behind, but it’s better this way. I’ll leave her as my final dish.”

{TL Note: The oriole here is referring to the idiom ‘the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it’.}

“What about the Supreme Pontiff? If he was trying to take you down…”

“I have both Cardinal Blood Stones now. The Contract of the Blood Stones no longer threatens me. I believe he will express goodwill to me soon and tell me he’s the most content with me among the seven Red Cardinals, hinting that he’s thinking of making me his successor,” Salan said.

“The Supreme Pontiff is looking for a successor?”

“Humph, he thinks he can live for a thousand years! Even if he’s lying in a coffin, he would still be holding onto his Supreme Pontiff Blood Stones. He will never look for a successor. He’s trying to get rid of everyone who is a threat to him!” Salan stated.

“What should we do then?”

“He has been the Supreme Pontiff for a long time, but has kept living on his past achievements. Unfortunately, people are quite forgetful. They always forget about the past, no matter how gruesome it was…” Salan replied calmly.

“We should plan carefully if we are thinking of taking down the Supreme Pontiff.”

“He will reveal his cloven foot soon.” Salan seemed very patient.

“By the way, the Saintess publicly announced her relationship with you recently. She has sworn to take you down, too,” the man in the dark said.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

“You’ve asked me to protect her in the dark, but I believe someone is doing a better job than I am,” the man said.

“I don’t really care if she’s alive, I’m just keeping my promise of making sure she can live until she’s twenty. Perhaps I’ll kill her with my own hands the next time we meet,” Salan replied.

“I can’t do that for you.”

“Then I’ll do it myself, but it won’t be necessary for the time being. She can fulfill her role as Izisha’s stumbling block for now.”

“How about the kid with the Demon Element?”

“We must eliminate him as soon as we have the chance. He’s a disaster!”

“Hehe, to think that there’s someone that master is having trouble scheming against.”

Salan was startled after hearing the comment.

Hadn’t she always been in control of everyone’s lives? She would only allow those that were useful to her to live, and could end the life of anyone when the time came. Since when had Mo Fan become the exception?

Perhaps it was because she once had thousands of ways to kill Mo Fan, but the man eventually became a thorn in her side that she was struggling to kill, and the feeling had grown even stronger as time passed.

“He’s growing stronger at a terrifying rate, so terrifying that I can’t even tell how strong he will be when we meet again next time. We must get rid of him as soon as possible!” Salan stated.

“You’re right. We should take him out before he becomes a Super Mage,” the man agreed.