The power of Mo Fan's flames was beyond comparison to ordinary fire. The group members, many of whom possessed spirit-level flames themselves, were certain that Mo Fan's flames were of an even higher tier.
This was clearly a soul-grade flame!
Mo Fan already had a soul-grade flame, and his mysterious background intrigued the others even more. Among the nominees for the competition, no one knew of someone like him. The pre-selected contestants were mostly famous or recommended. But Mo Fan was like someone who had descended from the sky out of nowhere. After witnessing his powerful display, everyone finally realized that this man was far from ordinary.
If anyone was unfazed by all this, it was Nan Jue. After all, she knew that Mo Fan was the man who had survived for half a year in the Scorched Plain. A guy with such tenacity—his strength should be no surprise. The Scorched Plain was a place where even high-level mage teams could hardly survive for that long, let alone a lone person!
After Mo Fan quickly disposed of the small sea demons, the others also eliminated the remaining creatures. It was then that Ai Jiangtu noticed something strange inside the belly of one of the creatures that Guan Yu had killed.
Without hesitation, Ai Jiangtu walked over to it.
He approached the corpse of the sea demon, carefully tore open its stomach, and reached inside.
"What are you doing, captain? That's so gross!" Mu Tingying covered her mouth and nose, trying to block the disgusting stench coming from the creature's stomach.
The others were equally puzzled, not understanding why Ai Jiangtu would dig into the demon's belly like that. Was there something important inside?
Ai Jiangtu was careful, delicately pulling out something from within the monster's gut.
When the others saw what Ai Jiangtu retrieved, their expressions shifted dramatically.
It was the body of a baby.
The mood turned grave. The sight of a baby's corpse, half-digested but mostly intact, disturbed everyone deeply. The women especially couldn't bear to look at the horrific scene.
The sea demons had eaten human infants.
Ai Jiangtu found another infant in the belly of another sea demon. Mo Fan's kills might have contained more of them, but the flames had likely incinerated them.
Suddenly, a strong beam of light descended from the sky, enveloping the two tiny bodies.
The bright light quickly purified the corpses. In seconds, they turned to ash. The wind picked up, scattering the ash, brushing across the somber faces of the group.
"It seems the authorities have been hiding something from us," Jiang Yu muttered darkly.
Faced with such a discovery, no one could maintain a good mood.
"Jiang Yu, Mu Tingying, you two head back to Feiniaoshi City and investigate any recent reports of demon attacks—especially involving infants," Ai Jiangtu ordered.
"We're not here to play detective, captain. We're here to kill the demons," Mu Tingying protested.
"Do you really think the mentors sent us to some random fishing village for no reason?" Ai Jiangtu countered.
Mu Tingying opened her mouth to argue but found no words. Ai Jiangtu's point made sense.
"This is a test, isn't it?" someone asked.
"I think it's more than a test," Jiang Yu replied. "Something horrible is happening here. The higher-ups likely don't know the full picture yet. Our mentors probably sent us here to figure it out while we train."
"So, this is a trial?" Nan Jue asked, furrowing her brows.
Ai Jiangtu shook his head. "Whether it's a trial or not, we have to get to the bottom of this. If those sea demons had devoured a mage or a fisherman, we could just bury them. But they've eaten infants—many, like the ones we just saw…"
Ai Jiangtu's voice trembled with anger. As a guardian mage, this situation enraged him. It wasn't just the brazenness of the sea demons, but also the fact that Feiniaoshi City's authorities hadn't taken any action.
Initially, Ai Jiangtu had felt indifferent toward the city's struggles against the sea demons. But now, after seeing the babies' bodies, he was furious. He wanted to storm back to Feiniaoshi City and drag the person in charge of its defense to the shore to witness the horror firsthand.
Jiang Yu and Mu Tingying, following Ai Jiangtu's orders, departed for Feiniaoshi City. The rest of the team remained on the island.
"What's our next move?" Guan Yu asked.
Despite seeing Mo Fan's strength, Guan Yu remained confident that he could surpass him. After all, he had been accepted into the national team and was sure his family would fully support his development. By the time the Venice World Tournament came around, he was sure he'd have access to soul seeds.
"Why are you asking stupid questions?" Mo Fan snapped.
Whenever someone tried to show off in front of Mo Fan, he always made sure to crush them completely. Guan Yu, sensing Mo Fan's insult, was about to retort, but his "rational" side held him back.
Seeing that Guan Yu didn't dare to argue back, Mo Fan grinned in satisfaction. Then, without effort, he reached out and dragged a small sea demon over to him from several meters away.
Mo Fan had noticed this particular little sea demon earlier. He had spared it because he planned to use it as a guide.
As the others watched Mo Fan casually capture the creature, they were once again struck by his power. Not only was his fire magic extraordinary, but his space magic was equally impressive.
Even Ai Jiangtu, a fellow space mage, couldn't help but marvel. Judging by Mo Fan's control and perception, his space magic was on par with Ai Jiangtu's—perhaps even more advanced!
There had been rumors of someone who could rival Ai Jiangtu for the captain's position. Ai Jiangtu hadn't thought much of it before, but now, he was sure that person must have been Mo Fan. And from what he had just seen, Mo Fan might even be stronger than him.
"Who here is a psychic mage?" Mo Fan asked as he held the small sea demon.
"I am," responded Jiang Shaoxu.
"Tell this thing to go back to its tribe and let them know to get ready. I'm coming for them," Mo Fan said, his tone cold.
"I'm not sure if it will understand," Jiang Shaoxu replied.
Mo Fan dragged the little sea demon to the shore. The creature squealed in panic, clearly terrified of the powerful humans who had so effortlessly slaughtered its kin.
Without any hesitation, Mo Fan kicked it into the sea.
"Did it get the message?" Mo Fan asked Jiang Shaoxu, turning back to her.
She nodded, smiling. "You looked pretty cool saying that."
"I don't just look cool when I talk," Mo Fan smirked. "There are other things I'm especially good at—if you're interested…"
Before he could finish, he noticed Mu Ningxue approaching. Mo Fan quickly shut up.
Jiang Shaoxu caught on and playfully shot him a flirty wink, giggling behind her hand.
(End of Chapter)