Wei Rong’s mouth twitched slightly upon hearing this. If Mo Fan challenged for first pce, wouldn’t that truly be spping his own face?

  However, he couldn’t just stop Mo Fan from getting challenged from others. So many challengers had already withdrawn. Challenge Week couldn’t simply be canceled. Thus he made a sacrificial move.

  “Who do you want to challenge?” Wei Rong asked.

  Mo Fan had originally wanted to bst Dongfang Lie straight off the stage, but he wasn’t completely reckless. Before the World Academy competition, he still needed to remain registered in the Fire Institute and secure resources.

  Under Wei Rong’s somewhat strained expression, Mo Fan said calmly, “I want to challenge the tenth in the Fire Institute.”

  Only when Wei Rong heard that Mo Fan wasn’t directly challenging Dongfang Lie did he breathe a slight sigh of relief. At least this kid wasn’t here to publicly humiliate him.

  The moment the words left Mo Fan’s mouth, the crowd reacted. Huang Xingli, standing beside Ding Yumian, gnced at her and muttered, “I knew it. He definitely has ulterior motives.”

  In her view, Mo Fan just wanted to attract Ding Yumian’s attention.

  Ding Yumian shook her head lightly. “You misunderstand. He’s fully capable of fighting Dongfang Lie. Challenging tenth is simply giving Teacher Wei Rong face.”

  Having the strength to challenge first, yet choosing tenth. It was obvious he only wanted Three Step Tower resources.

  With that, Ding Yumian stood and walked toward the arena’s center. Her posture was composed, her white outfit calm and elegant, like a pure rose in full bloom. Her long hair, tied high yet falling softly over her chest, drew countless eyes.

  Mo Fan knew she was ranked tenth. The challenge was intentional.

  Seeing his feigned look of surprise, Ding Yumian’s fair face hardened slightly. “You’d better use your full strength.”

  “Oh,” Mo Fan replied casually.

  Wei Rong returned to his seat. With Mo Fan’s destructive output, challenging anyone felt feasible. But Ding Yumian was different. She was a Mind Element Mage.

  “Begin!”

  “Mind Impact!”

  Ding Yumian’s star path formed almost instantly. Before Wei Rong’s voice fully faded, an invisible mental strike smmed directly into Mo Fan’s consciousness. The most terrifying part of a high-level Mind Mage was casting speed. If Mind Impact nded first, most opponents would never complete a spell.

  Mo Fan felt the mental reverberation shake his focus.

  Ding Yumian didn’t hesitate.

  “Fierce Fist!”

  Taking advantage of that brief disruption, she completed her Fire Star Consteltion. A massive fiery ring condensed around her wrist, heat spreading outward in a wide arc as fmes surged across tens of meters.

  Her range was nearly double that of an ordinary Mid-tier Fire Mage.

  Mo Fan activated his Blood Beast Boots and shifted backward, narrowly avoiding the full detonation.

  “Fierce Fist, Nine Paces!”

  Her consteltion formed again with incredible speed. Fire pilrs erupted in yered formation, leaving almost no breathing room.

  The mental pulse finally faded from Mo Fan’s mind. He stopped retreating.

  He didn’t ignite any special fme.

  He simply condensed his own Fire Nebu.

  Boom.

  The pilrs detonated against him. His upper garment tore under the bst, but his physique held. White Jade–strengthened body and raw durability absorbed the majority of the impact.

  Then he punched.

  “Fierce Fist, Nine Dragons.”

  Nine bzing fire dragons surged outward in perfect formation, overwhelming Ding Yumian’s Nine Paces instantly. Her fmes were swallowed whole as the dragons tore forward.

  The barrier trembled violently under the impact.

  Ding Yumian immediately activated her defensive Magic Tool. Soft azure armor pieces wrapped around her body, pnt-refined material forming yered protection.

  Even so, she was bsted backward.

  Mo Fan followed immediately.

  “Thunderbolt, Madness Dance.”

  Lightning exploded across the arena in violent arcs, thunder crashing down repeatedly. The ground around Ding Yumian shattered under the bombardment.

  Yet something was strange.

  She wasn’t struck directly.

  The lightning carved craters around her, missing by inches.

  After the storm settled, Ding Yumian stood, slightly scorched but intact.

  “I surrender,” she said calmly.

  She understood clearly.

  If those Thunderbolt strikes had nded, the result would have been no different from the previous opponents.

  Mo Fan had held back.

  Silence dominated the arena.

  Then the uproar began.

  “He tanked her bombardment without a Magic Tool!”

  “He directly withstood Nine Paces!”

  “Is he even human?!”

  “He’s the real Great Demon Head!”

  Everyone was stunned.

  They were all Mages. Their physiques were stronger than ordinary people. But no one should be able to stand in the center of a double-yered Nine Paces and retaliate like that.

  Not unless the gap was absolute.

  Mo Fan adjusted his torn sleeve slightly and looked toward the top-ranked seats.

  Dongfang Lie watched in silence.

  Challenge Week was no longer a joke.

  It had become a warning.