Turning my gaze to the arena, I saw five people sitting at a long table, their cultivation level at least obscure. The bald examiner, seeing Lo Sun, stood up from his seat and approached him. They exchanged a few more words, after which the examiner took his seat, the leftmost one. Next to him sat a rather young professor, a little over thirty, as far as I remember, the dean of the summoning faculty was also one of the youngest in Minzhu. On the right sat a woman, she was already under forty, but she still maintained a very good appearance. Next to her sat an elderly professor, his age, in my opinion, was approaching sixty.
In the center sat a man with gray hair and a neat beard. He wore glasses, which added strictness and impartiality to his image. He was dressed in white pants and a shirt. It seemed to me that he had no cultivation at all, but unlike the old man, there was something strange about this feeling. This was because this man was Director Xiao, a water magic mage, at least, one of the strongest people in Shanghai. I currently have no intention of showing myself to him; one sharp glance from a mage of this level would be enough to see all my cultivation, no matter how I hide it, at the moment.
In the arena itself, almost in the center, stood Mo Fan, dressed in rather worn clothes. He stood quite confidently, not doubting his abilities. I wonder what level the wolf has reached. Besides conversations, I haven't seen him in person, so it's hard to say for sure, but most likely he is approaching the level of a high servant.
"You said you've already summoned a beast, is that true?" asked the dean of the summoning faculty.
"Yes, I summoned it about half a year ago, it's my first summoned beast," Mo Fan answered confidently, without a hint of shyness.
"I see, what auxiliary tools did you use to summon it?" asked the same dean.
"None, they are too expensive for me, alas," Mo Fan replied calmly, with a hint of sadness.
"Young man, you know that if we find out you're lying, you'll never be able to enroll not only in Minzhu, but even in any university in this country. I'm sure the director won't leave a liar alone," the bald examiner noted calmly.
"Yes, I understand that, which is why I'm only telling the truth, whatever it may be," Mo Fan said calmly. Well, yes, he was definitely telling the truth, but not the whole truth; he did have a certain number of convolutions.
"Alright, then you can summon your beast so we can assess its strength," said the elderly professor good-naturedly, with a slight smile.
"Okay," Mo Fan nodded confidently, smiling, quickly and habitually constructing the star path of summoning magic. A silver ripple passed through the space behind him, and a dark wolf emerged from it.
"Oh, not bad, summoning his beast so quickly and confidently," said the dean of the summoning faculty, noting something on his sheet.
Meanwhile, the wolf fully appeared from the summoning space and looked around with a completely relaxed air. I, meanwhile, was studying it intently, trying to assess its strength. It had clearly developed well in the last month, so it was gradually approaching a high servant, it was just a little bit left. Not bad, Mo Fan's summoning magic has always lagged behind, except at the beginning of his path. I think if the star is more successful, then this element will receive more attention in the future.
After that, I turned my gaze to Lo Sun, who stood in complete shock. He quickly glanced at the professors, who were discussing Mo Fan's candidacy at that moment. As expected, Director Xiao and the dean of the summoning faculty supported him. The woman and the bald examiner were their opposition, and the elderly professor remained neutral, continuing to examine the wolf.
Lo Sun clearly didn't like this, so he jumped over the railing and headed towards Mo Fan. No one noticed this, of course, as they were absorbed in discussion, although mostly the woman and the bald man were arguing with the summoner dean. As I said, the elderly man just remained silent, and Director Xiao silently agreed, mainly observing the dispute. But if you think about it, a spell mage probably doesn't need to look anywhere to know what's happening there, right? Besides, he is definitely a high-level space mage.
"So you have a dark wolf, huh? I praise you, it's quite strong, you've fed it well," Lo Sun said, approaching Mo Fan and stopping twenty meters away from him and the wolf. "We mages destroy such things in heaps with just one spell!" he said, casting a contemptuous glance at the wolf. I also looked at it and noticed a slight strangeness. The wolf was staring intently at me? Its animal instincts had made it realize that I was an Asura? Although it didn't behave like that in Xi'an, but then it only appeared for a couple of seconds and was quickly sent back to the summoning space. While I was pondering, Lo Sun continued his tirade. "Let me play with your beast, let's see what it's capable of. I heard it's quite strong."
"You're right, it's strong, but I don't mind my wolf showing its full strength," Mo Fan said, slightly confused, probably wondering who could have told Lo Sun about his wolf's strength.
"Ha, yeah, it's no different from an ordinary dog, right?" Lo Sun sneered. "Even the dog guarding my house is stronger."
Oh, he shouldn't have said that. As far as I can judge from the canon, the wolf wasn't much different from Mo Fan in character, especially at the beginning, and was quite hot-tempered. A powerful roar echoed through the arena, the wolf tore its gaze away from me and turned it to Lo Sun. I clearly saw rage in its eyes. However, it didn't rush to attack, waiting for Mo Fan's permission. They had really gotten along well. Mo Fan didn't make him wait long and nodded his head lightly.
The wolf immediately broke into a run and charged at Lo Sun. The latter, in turn, calmly watched it, quickly constructing a star path and using earth waves to slow down the wolf. But the effect of his magic was clearly not as much as he wanted, his face took on a very worried look, and he immediately used earth waves to retreat. Naturally, the examiners noticed all this and began to observe what was happening, ready to intervene at any moment.
The wolf continued to try to catch up to Lo Sun, and the latter alternately tried to slow down the wolf and escape from its attack. He was clearly very angry. Xu Zhao Ting, sitting next to me, even chuckled quietly, seeing such a bizarre battle. Besides, he knew perfectly well that if Mo Fan really wanted to punish Lo Sun for his words about the wolf, there would be nothing left of him. As Lo Sun himself said, he was just playing with Mo Fan's wolf, and it looked very funny.
The examiners were of the same opinion, and after a minute, they were about to stop the fight for being unnecessary, but then something happened that no one expected. Well, perhaps except for me and Director Xiao. Lo Sun stopped and began to quickly construct a star map of the ice element. The ground beneath his feet cracked, and three chains shot up from it. I wonder if he is deliberately reducing their number to have more control over them, like Mu Bai does, or if he simply can't create more? But in any case, this unexpected phenomenon even put the wolf in a slight stupor. However, it did not stop attacking after that, for which it soon paid. The three chains easily caught its legs and lifted it into the air.
"Ha, your wolf isn't so formidable if you find the right approach," Lo Sun declared smugly, putting his hands on his hips.
It was at this moment that in the original, Mo Fan couldn't stand it and used mid-level lightning magic. But this time he was calm, and his calmness was not unfounded. The wolf quickly understood its position, and soon the chains began to stretch it in different directions, gradually freezing it. However, it did not lose its composure and, using a shockwave from its roar, cracked the chains holding its hind legs. It seemed to me that the shockwave was stronger than it should have been at its level. Well, then it was a matter of technique, one powerful surge and its paws were free, and it stood on three legs, and freeing the last one was not difficult.
The wolf stood on four legs and proudly raised its head, looking down disdainfully at Lo Sun. This was already a direct deviation from the canon, but it did not go beyond my expectations, so I was not worried about it at all. After all, this happened because Mo Fan had become much stronger. Lo Sun stood with a lost expression on his face; of course, he was confident in his ice prison, and here it was broken, ha. Everything is going exactly as I thought, now there is a high probability that he will come to me for artifacts. Well, if not, there are a couple more ways to make him do it.
The wolf didn't think long and ran straight at Lo Sun, wanting to tear him to pieces for his insults. I must give the guy credit, he didn't lose his composure and continued to use earth waves, trying to get away from the wolf as far as possible. Sweat streamed down Lo Sun's face, and panic was clearly visible on it. A little more, and he might start making mistakes, and the magic would stop working, then it would definitely be over.
"I think we've had enough of this circus," Director Xiao said confidently, observing everything that was happening intently. "Mo Fan, recall your wolf and return it to the summoning space," he said calmly.
"Okay," Mo Fan nodded his head and added, already addressing the wolf. "Go home, buddy, enough games with him."
To Lo Sun's great surprise, the wolf obeyed, returned to Mo Fan, and, passing through the silver ripple, returned to the summoning space. The examiners were still discussing something quickly at this time, but I didn't hear what exactly. Lo Sun, with a furious expression, headed towards Mo Fan, who stood not far from the examiners. This time he approached closely and, poking the latter in the chest with his index finger, said.
"Remember, I am Lo Sun, from the Lo family, I will always strive to surpass you and defeat you!" he said with clear threat in his voice.
"Mo Fan, you are passing the exam and enrolling in the summoning faculty," Director Xiao said after these words, at which point Lo Sun turned completely red with anger. "And you, Lo Sun, are also enrolling in the earth faculty. I think it would be better if you enrolled in the ice faculty."
"Alright, Director Xiao," Lo Sun snorted coldly and turned away from the arena.
"Now, what about you, you came from the city of Bo, didn't you?" Director Xiao asked directly, approaching Mo Fan.
"Yes, but I don't think the other students need to know about it; I don't want everyone to consider me special just for that," Mo Fan nodded confidently, looking directly into Director Xiao's eyes.
"I understand, as director, I understand you and will keep this a secret, but if it becomes necessary to disclose this information to protect you from general anger, I will do so without hesitation," Director Xiao said seriously, once again examining Mo Fan from head to toe.
"I'll be grateful, Director," Mo Fan said, nodding in return.
"You're welcome. Are your friends who came with you also from the city of Bo?" Director Xiao asked a slightly unexpected question.
"Yes, we met them in the famine of Bo. One is Jiaxing Yun, my sworn brother, and the other is Xu Zhao Ting, my friend, although we haven't known him for long," Mo Fan answered honestly. In theory, he shouldn't blurt out anything superfluous. Although, I tensed slightly.
"I see, they seem to have enrolled in the advanced class of the lightning faculty," Director Xiao said thoughtfully. "Good luck with your studies."
"Thank you, Director," Mo Fan thanked him, then asked, "Can we move into the dorms now?"
"Yes, of course, only you will live in different rooms, as you belong to different faculties," Director Xiao clarified.
"I understand, thank you. Goodbye," Mo Fan replied and headed in our direction. We had already descended from the stands and were waiting for him at the exit. I looked towards Lo Sun, who was leaving through another exit; he was clearly in a bad mood and was saying something to his driver, casting glances in our direction.