"Such a pity. Mo Fan is still training hard in the temple on Mount Hua, deep in the snow. I bet he won't leave until he recovers his cultivation. Let's use this empty cup to represent him... everyone, cheers!" said Wang Sanpang with high spirits.
"HAHAHA, I never expected to spend my New Year here. Either way, it's great to be alive," said Zhang Xiaohou.
"Yeah, how lucky are we to survive two great calamities!" agreed Zhao Kunsan.
"Let's give Mo Fan a toast. Come on. Hey, put Mo Fan's picture on your iPad and set it straight. That's right, let's send him our regards."
"Should we light up three incense sticks too?"
"Put his photo on grayscale..."
"Hahahaha..." Everyone laughed out loud, enjoying the peace that had slowly begun to return to their lives.
"...By the way, have you all thought about the offer from Damon?" Zhao Kunsan was the one to bring up the topic. His tone was cheerful, but his eyes nervously darted around the room, especially toward Mu Bai, who was quietly drinking from his glass.
"Uh... uh. We did get properties and rewards from the authorities, but the sponsorship from Damon is a big deal." Zhao Kunsan felt his heart grow heavy as he looked down at his glass. "I... I'm thinking of joining him. My talent isn't great for a mage, but after the destruction of Bo City and Xi'an... I don't want to stop here."
"I wish to grow stronger. Strong enough so that those Black Vatican bastards can never harm the place I live in again."
Everyone fell silent as they listened to Zhao Kunsan's words. The cheerful atmosphere turned serious.
After the war against the undead, Damon had approached them all and offered them sponsorship to continue on the path of mage cultivation.
His main targets were Mu Bai and Zhou Min, but to avoid being too obvious, he had also extended offers to the others from his school.
Mu Bai was obviously a top-tier talent, surpassed only by Mo Fan and his two wives in the original story. By the end, he became one of the strongest side characters.
It would be idiotic not to recruit such a talent while he was still at the lowest point of his life.
His father had been an infamous member of the Black Vatican and a subordinate of Salan. His family name was stained, and no organization that valued its reputation wanted to associate with him.
He had proven himself to be different, but things were not that simple.
The Mu family name in Bo City had gone down the drain, with him suffering the most.
His wealth—which had actually belonged to his father—was seized, leaving him penniless. Although he had received rewards and compensation, the path of a mage was a money-burning occupation. There was little hope of continuing without struggling fiercely.
Zhou Min had also lost a lot, and while her talent fell slightly short of Xu Zhaoting's, she was still exceptionally gifted.
Many great characters had been built up at the start of the story only to be abandoned or killed as it progressed.
Knowing the potential they possessed, Damon had no intention of allowing any of them to follow their original paths. He intended for them to bloom under his banner instead.
Xu Zhaoting, a genius of both Lightning and Wind elements, had already demonstrated his talent and was now sponsored by Damon.
He intended to do the same with Zhou Min and, especially, Mu Bai.
As a result, even Zhao Kunsan and the others had been offered standard contracts.
Talented mages who did not belong to clans or organizations were often recruited by corporations.
They were involved in security work, hunting missions, and other operations, with their achievements being publicized to enhance corporate prestige.
The more famous a mage became, the greater the benefits they received. Likewise, the reputation of the company they were associated with would continue to grow.
Mu Bai listened to everyone's words and smiled.
"Actually...I have also decided to accept it"
***
Months passed as autumn arrived in China.
On Mount Hua, Mo Fan continued training in seclusion.
In terms of cultivation, he had already surpassed his original novel counterpart, though his combat ability was somewhat weaker due to the absence of Flame Belle.
His Fire and Lightning elements had reached the Advanced Mage level, while his Summoning and Shadow elements needed only a small push to enter the Advanced realm as well.
His Space element remained at the Intermediate level, while the Demon element lay dormant within his body, untouched.
Only Han Ji, Damon, and a few others knew about Mo Fan's Demon element. They themselves were confused by its existence and had advised him to keep it hidden.
This time, he had not used the Demon element, meaning his cultivation had not regressed.
The massive amount of soul essences and remnants he had harvested remained stored within the Little Loach, which he barely used.
Damon had warned him against using those soul essences for now. If the need ever arose to activate the Demon element again, they would require those souls to sustain its usage.
As a result, Mo Fan refrained from consuming them.
Unlike in the original novel, he was not on the verge of bankruptcy every other week due to the burden of raising Flame Belle.
Cultivation resources were arranged for him by Han Ji and others, while his previous rewards and savings left him in a far better financial position than fate had originally intended.
However, his period of seclusion was abruptly interrupted when he received an urgent call from Tang Yue.
Leaving in a hurry for Hangzhou, Mo Fan descended the mountain while fiddling with his phone.
Trrring... Trrring...
"Damon, I need a favor from you..."
***
Hangzhou
"Well, let's see... this should be the school, right?"
Stepping out of the car, Damon muttered to himself as he looked around.
There was no convoy and no security detail around him.
He stood alone, leaning against a Mercedes while observing the school building.
Wearing a black cap and a mask, he was dressed casually.
After receiving a call from Mo Fan asking for help, he had arrived in Hangzhou and was now standing on the campus of the school where Ye Xinxia studied.
'It's been quite some time since I last saw her.'
Looking at the closed school gate, Damon shook his head before walking forward.
His body slowly dissipated into black smoke.
The black fog dispersed wide enough to become invisible as he entered the school building and began searching for Ye Xinxia.
She was not in her classroom.
That puzzled Damon slightly.
After searching further, he eventually found her sitting alone inside a teacher's office.
The black fog slowly gathered together as he appeared at the doorway.
"Ye Xinxia."
Damon's voice startled the girl waiting alone inside the office.
She looked back with wide eyes before a smile blossomed across her face.
"Brother Damon?"
Moving her wheelchair, she looked at him in surprise and asked why he was here.
"Nothing. I was visiting Hangzhou, and it's been a long time since I've seen you, so I decided to drop by."
It was a rather poor excuse, but he obviously couldn't tell her that her brother was worried about her and had asked him to guard her until Mo Fan arrived.
"But why are you sitting here all alone?"
"Oh. Teacher said that people from the Parthenon are supposed to visit the school for interviews and asked me to wait here until they arrive."
Ye Xinxia answered brightly.
Damon smiled and engaged in small talk.
'Parthenon.'
Inside Damon's mind, the gears began to turn as he remembered the upcoming plot.
People from the Parthenon would attempt to practically kidnap Ye Xinxia here before Mo Fan disrupted their plans.
Nonetheless, the poor girl would still end up caught in the clutches of the Pope and all the chaos that followed.
"...By the way, Ye Xinxia, do you really want to go to the Parthenon?" Damon asked directly.
"Brother..."
Ye Xinxia hesitated as she looked down at her legs.
"I... I heard that they are the best in the world when it comes to Healing and White Magic."
"They possess the most advanced knowledge regarding the Healing Element, and... and only four people in China are selected each year."
"It is a precious opportunity for healing mages."
Damon listened calmly as Ye Xinxia explained.
He slowly walked toward her and knelt down.
"Look, Xinxia. Those things are all true, but the Parthenon is not an easy place."
His mind rapidly searched for excuses as he tried to dissuade her and avoid all the future drama surrounding the Parthenon.
"Believe me. Healing Magic may be somewhat behind there compared to the Parthenon, but it is far safer."
Damon listed several reasons, attempting to persuade Ye Xinxia not to join.
Her resolve weakened somewhat, but whenever she looked at her crippled legs, she could not bring herself to abandon the idea.
Damon sighed.
'It's not really my place to tell her this, but...'
In the entirety of Quanzhi Fashi, Ye Xinxia's journey to the Parthenon had become one of the greatest misfortunes for Mo Fan and everyone around him.
Looking at Xinxia's legs, Damon searched for another argument.
Then his thoughts suddenly halted.
"Do you wish to walk normally, Xinxia?"