NOVEL NEXT Chapter 15: Chapter 15: Mu Ningxue
Over the past six months, Lu Jun had been working with the city's demon-hunting team, hunting and killing seven or eight minor demon creatures one after another. He had gained significant experience and improved greatly. Meanwhile, Lu Mei's Rock Element had also reached the peak of Beginner-Level Three.
If the two of them worked together seamlessly, their combat strength would rival that of a twenty-member team of Beginner mages, meeting the standard for venturing outside the safe zone.
Although Lu Jun was eager to go hunting right away, he had to wait until the year-end assessment was over.
This assessment promised to be quite the spectacle.
Lu Jun remembered something and walked over to Mo Fan with a meaningful look. Casually, he said, "The year-end assessment is in a few days. I heard that Mu Ningxue will be attending. Any thoughts on that?"
The group had already returned to the teaching building to take shelter from the rain. Mo Fan, upon seeing Lu Jun, was about to make a snarky remark about his flamboyance when he heard those words. His expression turned blank as if he was lost in thought.
Back then, that incident had caused a huge commotion, implicating many people. The truth was, Mu Ningxue, in a fit of her princess-like temper, naively decided to run away from home and casually told Mo Fan to take her out.
The main issue lay with Mu Ningxue, but naturally, the "master" could do no wrong. Her father, Mu Zhuoyun, blew the matter out of proportion, and in his anger, implicated the families of numerous servants.
As the situation escalated, the truth became muddled, and it was impossible to untangle the grievances and grudges.
Mo Fan snapped out of his daze, noticing Lu Jun's mischievous smile. He cursed, "What thoughts could I possibly have? I just want to beat that old dog Mu Zhuoyun!"
"Good! Spirited as always."
Lu Jun gave a cheerful snap of his fingers, and the water-coating windbreaker around him dissolved into a fine mist.
The students of Class 8, Year 1, had all gathered by then. Each of them was both nervous and excited, tinged with a bit of melancholy as the year-end assessment would lead to class reshuffling. The friends they had just grown close to might soon be separated.
A few days later, the typhoon had passed, and the skies cleared.
All thirty classes, numbering 1,500 students in total, gathered on the large playground. The school's leadership, directors, and even figures like Mu Zhuoyun and Mu He were present.
Lu Jun, Mo Fan, Zhang Xiaohou, and Mu Bai stood quietly in the crowd, listening as Mu He delivered an enthusiastic speech.
"Today is a particularly special day," Mu He announced.
"The school has invited Bo City's most outstanding female mage. At the age of 15, she was directly admitted to the Imperial Capital's Magic Academy as a special exception. I believe many of you have already heard of her legendary story..."
"Yes, that's right. She is none other than Mu Ningxue! Let us give a warm round of applause to welcome this magical prodigy who, though meant to be your peer, has already ascended to the university level!"
Mu He concluded his speech by introducing an exceptional alumna.
"No way! Could it really be the legendary Mu Ningxue, whose natural talent includes the innate Ice Spirit Seed, making her Ice Magic three times more powerful than the average person?"
The entire student body erupted into discussion. Judging by their reactions, everyone was familiar with Mu Ningxue.
No one had expected that the year-end assessment would allow them to witness this legendary magical prodigy.
The Ice Spirit Seed, even without considering its various special effects, granted a mage's magic power 2 to 3 times the strength of an ordinary person. For instance, a Beginner-Level One Ice spell from her would be equivalent to a Beginner-Level Three spell from others—a staggering difference.
To put it simply, unless one possessed a second element like Lu Jun's Metal Element, challenging Mu Ningxue was tantamount to serving oneself up as fodder.
Fortunately, the immense resources (far exceeding one million) invested into Lu Jun's Metal Element paid off, allowing him to complement his other magic and even single-handedly defeat servant-level creatures.
However, Lu Jun also knew that Mu Ningxue's talent extended far beyond her innate Ice Spirit Seed. Her true gift was her innate Soul Seed, also referred to as the Ice Element's Calamity Bearer.
The Soul Seed amplified power by 4 to 6 times. Although this wasn't fully evident yet due to her current level, once she reached the Advanced Level and maximized her potential at sixfold power, she wouldn't just be a candidate for Forbidden Magic—her innate talent would evolve further at the moment of her breakthrough.
An already monstrous Soul Seed, further evolving... what kind of concept was that? We generally describe it in two words: a monster!
Frankly, having dual elements from birth couldn't compare to being a Calamity Bearer. So what if you had more magical elements? Without money and resources to cultivate them, each element would remain mediocre, perhaps even below average, and you'd still be crushed by others.
Additionally, advancing through the five major tiers of magic grew increasingly difficult. Many mages spent their entire lives stuck before reaching the Advanced Level, needing the pure, boundless energy of nature itself to break through.
In this regard, even dual-element mages were no exception. Among all innate talents, only Calamity Bearers were the outliers.
To make an improper comparison, a Calamity Bearer was akin to the Calamity Poison Body from Battle Through the Heavens. Once they absorbed poison, their cultivation surged uncontrollably, accelerating until it led to their self-destruction.
Coincidentally, the Element in Black Magic happened to include a Poison Element. If a Calamity Bearer emerged with this, they would perfectly resemble the Battle Through the Heavens template, becoming an unstoppable force.
The more Lu Jun thought about it, the more urgency he felt. No matter how he assessed his own abilities, he remained dissatisfied—he needed to work even harder.
"Fan, Fan, it's the princess! It really is her! She actually came to our school!"
At that moment, Zhang Xiaohou tugged excitedly at Mo Fan's sleeve.
Mo Fan and Lu Jun both looked up at the stage and indeed saw a stunning figure standing there, proud as a lotus amidst snow.
Clad in a pure white high-waisted dress, Mu Ningxue's breathtaking silhouette was displayed to perfection.
Yet, what captivated everyone wasn't just her sensual and youthful allure but also her dazzling snow-silver middle-parted long hair.
Despite the sweltering heat, the girl standing tall on the stage resembled a snow fairy descended from the icy peaks of heaven—ethereal, untouchable, and impossibly beautiful.
The entire student body fell silent for a moment before breaking into fervent discussion.
This was Mu Ningxue, the ice goddess of her youth, exuding an innate, bone-deep arrogance.
Lu Jun cast a glance at her unique silver hair and mused to himself, her Calamity Bearer talent must already be manifesting.
In the end, he felt entirely uninterested in her, unlike the rest of the male students who regarded her as a goddess.
Having knowledge of the future, he understood that this girl was a pure disaster—or rather, any Calamity Bearer would inevitably appear on the Magic Association's list of marked individuals. Later on, any association with her would lead to death.
The reasoning was simple: when talent exceeded a certain threshold, it became a calamity for the entire species.
At this stage, Mu Ningxue's noble background and the support of the Imperial Mu family ensured her allegiance to the aristocratic class. Simply put, they were not on the same path.
No matter how beautiful she was, Lu Jun maintained his distance. She was cold to her core. He remembered that more than a thousand chapters later, it took Mo Fan countless life-and-death struggles to finally win over this piece of eternal ice, breaking his teeth in the process.
While Mo Fan had his flaws, the sacrifices he made for Mu Ningxue were enormous. For her, he risked his life time and again, paying steep prices. Even compared to the most obsessive admirers, his devotion was on another level.
If not for their childhood bond and shared ambiguous past, Mo Fan would likely have been nothing more than a fool and a walking ATM in her life.
Sometimes, Lu Jun resented the fact that he hadn't been reincarnated as a woman. If that were the case, he could have simply relied on a dedicated supporter instead of striving so hard on his own.
Having lived through this life again, Lu Jun was far more mature. Love had to be mutual. Besides, if he had to indulge in lustful thoughts, he preferred older women, whose maturity and charm were far more appealing than that of young girls.
With his thoughts wandering, he glanced at Mo Fan beside him.