The Razor-Winged Sparrow's feathers were remarkably strong, with extremely sharp tips. They looked like densely packed daggers hanging on its wings, glowing elegantly under the moonlight.
The Razor-Feathered Sparrow uttered a shriek in the sky. Its sharp eyes locked onto Mo Fan and Tangyue.
Mo Fan and Tangyue had no intention to keep running. It was obvious that their backup would make their way toward their location in no time. They had to stop them from tailing them any further, thus they would have to defeat them as soon as possible.
As the Razor-Feathered Sparrow drew closer, it was clear that the enemy was being cautious, as they did not initiate the fight straight away.
"Mr. Wu, we've found the target. Please send back-up immediately," Liu Zhongming, mounted on the Razor-Feathered Sparrow, said into the communication device in his hand.
"Great job, keep them busy and tail them. Stop them from reaching White Mountain at all cost. We'll be there in twenty minutes," the Head of the Royal Guards, Wu Pingjing, said from the other end.
"Affirmative!" Liu Zhongming responded firmly, subconsciously smiling.
Having a Razor-Feathered Sparrow surely made a huge difference. The other interns had no chance of catching up to his flying Summoned beast.
"Brother, what should we do?" Liu Yilin glanced down from above. He could clearly see the man and woman on the ground, so he could not help but feel slightly nervous.
It was Liu Yilin's first time joining an operation of the Enforcement Union. It was said to be a direct order from Councilman Zhu Meng, thus it was surely a challenging task. As a result, Liu Yilin was fairly intimidated by the targets they were pursuing.
The fact that Zhu Meng had sent his Royal Guards after them was a clear indication that they were no ordinary criminals.
"They are heading straight for White Mountain," said the man with thick brows who was flying with the Wing Equipment.
"Don't let them reach the mountain. It's an order from the Head of the Royal Guards! We have to stop them!" said Liu Zhongming.
"Then let's head down and detain them!" The man with the thick brows seemed rather confident. He did not even consider their targets' strength.
Their targets seemed to be only in their twenties. There was no way their strength would be too overwhelming. There was no reason he, Dongfang Ming, should be intimidated by them!
Dongfang Ming was fearless. He withdrew the wings on his back and dove straight to the ground.
His body was engulfed in bright flames, which grew fiercer as he continued to fall rapidly, like the flame friction between a meteor and the air, leaving a long tail of flame behind him.
The fireball slammed into the ground. Dongfang Ming, who was wearing a gray outfit, straightened up with a cold expression. He stood on top of the scorched ground he had just produced and stared at Mo Fan and Tangyue with an arrogant look.
"It's better that you surrender now that you've stumbled into me, Dongfang Ming, as I've never shown any mercy to my enemies!" Dongfang Ming stood in front of Mo Fan and Tangyue. The flames engulfing his figure were emanating a unique brilliance.
The aura and the color of the flame clearly indicated that his flame was no ordinary fire!
On second thought, surely a person who could afford Wing Equipment could also afford a Spirit-grade Fire Seed. He would surely be a tough opponent. Mo Fan gave Tangyue a look, telling her to leave this smartass to him.
"Be careful, he's Dongfang Ming, the most talented Fire Magician among the younger generations of the renowned Dongfang Clan," whispered Tangyue.
"Dongfang Clan?" The name did ring a bell to Mo Fan. If he weren't mistaken, he should be grateful to them for giving him the chance to obtain the Rose Flame!
Tangyue and Mo Fan stood further apart, giving Mo Fan enough space to battle against Dongfang Ming.
Her action somehow made Dongfang Ming angry.
Dongfang Ming glanced at Mo Fan proudly with a smirk and spoke in a disdainful tone, "Do you really think you can handle me on your own?"
Dongfang Ming had already inspected Mo Fan's strength with his awareness. His enemy's cultivation was slightly lower than his. Among Intermediate Magicians, Dongfang Ming considered himself unbeatable. He could even handle duplicates of the enemy in front of him with ease.
"Of course not," Mo Fan shook his head.
"You do have a clear picture of your own limitations," Dongfang Ming laughed.
"I'll have to defeat you within fifteen minutes." Mo Fan wore a smile too, the same arrogant smile that Dongfang Ming was wearing.
Mo Fan was clear that the Royal Guards would arrive in around twenty minutes. He would need an extra five minutes to run away from the place, thus he only had fifteen minutes to defeat the guy.
"Imbecile!" Dongfang Ming was infuriated. He was unbeatable against Intermediate Magicians, let alone being defeated in fifteen minutes!
Dongfang Ming took the initiative to attack. A Fire Element Star Pattern appeared on the scorched ground under his feet. The Stars were aligned so fast that instead of Stars connecting with one another, it was the Nebulas connecting to one another.
His Star Pattern was aligned at such a quick speed that even Mo Fan found it hard to believe!
"I forgot to mention, I was born with the ability to cast Fire Spells at a much faster rate!" Dongfang Ming was so full of himself that he blatantly revealed his special talent.
Mo Fan thought his casting speed was already quick enough, but his enemy was already throwing a Fiery Fist in his direction when he was halfway through the channeling.
He had no choice but to stop the channeling. He quickly dissolved into the shadows and dodged aside.
The giant Fiery Fist swept past Mo Fan just inches away from his face. If it were ordinary flame, Mo Fan could resist it without dodging. However, Mo Fan discovered that the outer ring of Dongfang Ming's flame was a faint blue in color.
What exactly made his flame faint blue?
Mo Fan agilely went out of the range of the Fiery Fist using his Fleeing Shadow. As he was trying to figure out the secret behind his opponent's flame, he suddenly felt a great heat from the ground. His feet were almost cooked by the intensity of it.
Mo Fan looked down and saw the faint blue flame had already spread to the ground under his feet, setting the plants nearby aflame...
The fire grew bigger as it burned the plants. A moment later, Mo Fan found himself surrounded by the blue flame!
"So it's some Spirit-grade Soul Seed that will intensify the combustion, able to set a huge area aflame. This blue flame is rather interesting," murmured Mo Fan.
The temperature of the thick blue flame was not as high as Rose Flame, but it was extremely difficult to extinguish.
The entire area was blazing blue due to the spreading flame, so the shadows were not thick enough for Mo Fan to cast his Fleeing Shadow again. Seeing the flame slowly spreading toward him, Mo Fan made up his mind and slammed his fist onto the ground!
Mo Fan would not believe that his Rose Flame would lose to the blue flame!
A blazing red flame set Mo Fan aflame like a fiend in human shape. A magnificent, fiery rose burst out under his feet as his fist collided with the ground.
The flame completely devoured Mo Fan. Its tongues swayed wildly as it spread in all directions and collided with the blue flames!
"Flame with the color of rose, is this Rose Flame?" Dongfang Ming immediately recognized the flame.
The fire of the Groundbreak surged toward the blue flames with an overwhelming heat. In terms of temperature and ferocity, Rose Flame was considered one of the best among all flames.
The blazing red flame rushed into the burning zone of the faint blue flame and rapidly extinguished it. They were like a pack of wolves stumbling into a fierce tiger, backing off and scattering as they did not dare to face the Rose Flame head on.
Mo Fan further transferred his energy to expand the flame. A fiery rose blossomed on the field, emitting a blinding glow.
The faint blue flame was snuffed at an incredible pace, as the rose-colored flame thoroughly dominated the area.
Unfortunately, the Rose Flame could not last as long as Blue Flame. Each flame possessed different traits. In comparison, Rose Flame was more destructive and ferocious, while Blue Flame was able to last longer and spread rapidly.
As he thought, when Mo Fan drove the blue flames away from his vicinity, they were not thoroughly extinguished. They continued to linger in the surroundings and reignited the dry patch of grass nearby, as if they were waiting for the perfect timing for a comeback.
"So you recognize the flame?" Mo Fan chuckled when he saw the faint blue flames scattering.
"Humph, I guess you are somehow responsible for the deaths of my elder brothers. I will take you down and interrogate you at the Enforcement Union!" Dongfang Ming's eyes flickered furiously.
Back then, Dongfang Ming was tipped off by an old hunter that some flame with high temperature was discovered close to a village outside of Hangzhou's boundaries. As a result, the village had suffered a serious drought.
Dongfang Ming was initially planning to acquire the flame for himself, but he could not make it as he had to attend the trial of the Enforcement Union. Therefore, he had given the chance to his elder cousins who were rather talented, instead. To his surprise, they somehow went missing. It took him a tremendous amount of effort to discover the information about Rose Flame, and in the end, it had also disappeared.
Initially, Dongfang Ming thought he would never be able to find the truth. He did not expect he would stumble into the murderer of his few brothers here!
"Dongfang Ming, calm yourself, our goal is to stop them from entering White Mountain. We must wait for backup from the Royal Guards," blurted out Liu Zhongming.
"I don't need you to tell me what to do!" Dongfang Ming was infuriated. The flame engulfing his body became stronger.
Mo Fan was just worried that his enemy would choose not to fight him head on to drag the battle out. Everything would be easier for him now that his opponent had gone mad himself.
He stood there and surprisingly, he was not casting an Intermediate Spell.
A rose-colored flame was instantly ignited on his hand after he flipped it, like a magician elegantly summoning a red rose out of nowhere.
"Fire Burst!"
Mo Fan threw the fireball in his hand forward. It drew an arc in the dark sky before landing right at Dongfang Ming's position.
Mo Fan could not help but admit that Dongfang Ming's talent was fairly impressive. His casting speed was too quick. He had already finished casting a Star Pattern for an Intermediate Magic while he only finished casting a Basic Spell. If he had sufficient energy... Mo Fan was able to cast Fire Burst continuously, allowing him to launch fireballs like a machine gun. However, this Dongfang Ming was able to launch Fiery Fists rapidly, like a high firing-rate bazooka!
Mo Fan had learned from his previous mistake. He was reluctant to face his enemy with an Intermediate Spell.
"Trying to attack me with a mere Basic Spell? You're too naive!" Dongfang Ming was not bothered by Mo Fan's Fire Burst. He continued to align the Star Patterns under his feet.
With the strength of the flame engulfing his body, the Basic-level Fire Burst was unable to inflict any damage to him even if it hit him accurately.
"Who's being naive here?" uttered Mo Fan with a grin.
Mo Fan clenched his fists and detonated the Fire Burst with his will. It immediately triggered an explosion with a diameter of two meters. The impact forcibly knocked the proud Dongfang Ming a few meters away.
The fireball was fairly huge and astounding. The air nearby buzzed loudly due to the impact of the explosion as wild sparks scattered in all directions.
The effect of Rose Flame made the Fire Burst: Rupture even more violent. Most importantly, the strength of Mo Fan's Fire Burst: Rupture was comparable to the Fiery Fist produced by an ordinary flame!
The Fire Burst: Rupture's power had exceeded Dongfang Ming's expectation. He was lucky that he also possessed the Fire Element. Otherwise, the impact alone could have turned him into a half-cripple!
"Your Fire Burst..." Dongfang Ming rose to his feet with a scorched face. Apart from anger, his eyes were full of astonishment too.
Why is his Fire Burst: Rupture so powerful? That was almost comparable to the power of an Intermediate Spell!
"I guess you're the first person to have a taste of my Fifth-tier Fire Burst," Mo Fan wore a smile. More fireballs were summoned on his palms at the same pace.
"A fifth-tier Basic Spell..." Dongfang Ming was stunned.
He was rather proud of himself for having Wing Equipment when he was only an Intermediate Magician. He thought he could easily dominate the Intermediate Magicians, but he never thought there was someone even more prodigal than him, to rank up a Basic Spell to the fourth tier!
One could only strengthen a Basic Spell to that level using Soul Essences, and each of them would cost between three million to five million RMB. Normally, in order to guarantee that the Nebulas would fully absorb them, most people would refine them with Soul Essences around the five million price mark.
Therefore, seven Stars would require seven Soul Essences in total, which would sum up to thirty-five million RMB!
He could easily buy a fairly outstanding Soul Seed with that amount of money!
"You're such an idiot to waste money on something as useless as chicken ribs," rebuked Dongfang Ming, as if he could not accept the fact that someone was richer than him.
"You should look at my Soul Seed before describing it as chicken ribs!" said Mo Fan.
Rose Flame had an extremely high temperature. It was one of the most blatantly destructive among all flames, being able to further multiply the damage of a Fire Magic by around 2.5 times.
The fifth-tier Fire Burst did not provide anything special. The only difference was its power was almost tripled compared to the third tier.
Therefore, as the improvements stacked on top of one another, Mo Fan's Fire Burst was almost 10 times stronger than an ordinary Fire Burst!
Fire Burst: Rupture was basically the most destructive Basic Spell among all the Elements. After its power was multiplied 10 times, it was basically comparable to an Intermediate Spell 2.
On top of that, Mo Fan was so adept at casting Basic Spells that he could throw the fireballs instantly. Even if its power was only that of an Intermediate Spell, it was more than enough to blast Dongfang Ming until he shut his mouth! Beside for these basic spells they consumed basically no mana and felt like a single thought connection of spells.