"If I can gather forty-two Warrior-level Soul Essences, then I'll place them into the Metal Element, the Fifth-level Mid-tier Weapon Control…"
Lu Jun rubbed his chin. After all, at this rate, the Tai'a Divine Sword was the greatest contributor in collecting Soul Essences. He couldn't afford to favor one over the other.
In the remaining time, he focused on meditating and cultivating, consolidating the cultivation of his six Elemental Star Palaces before leaving seclusion.
The other group from the Chinese National Institute Team was already urging them. They headed to Egypt first, and everyone was to meet in Cairo. This was the final stop of the National Institute Challenge. Once they completed the trial in Egypt, they would return to Venice.
When Lu Jun saw Mo Fan, Mu Ningxue, and the others, all of them were brimming with energy and spirit, their progress remarkable.
Without hesitation, the group gathered and boarded a plane to Egypt that very afternoon.
The South African National Institute Team, however, bid farewell in advance. Having lost more than half of their members, they had no choice but to terminate their participation in the Institute Challenge, return home, and reselect members.
In truth, most countries' National Institute Teams ended up like this. A team like Chinese Nation's, where not a single member had perished, was extremely rare.
The Sahara was very close to Egypt. After only a few hours, the two groups had already reunited.
Guan Yu spoke sourly, "Mo Fan, you're really something, huh? Charging into the Sahara and still managing to bring out the South African National Institute Team alive."
"Hehehe." Mo Fan countered lightly, "Lucky? Why didn't you come along too, then?"
As the two bickered, Lu Jun received a direct order from the National Institute mentors: after finishing the challenge at the Egyptian Pavilion, he was to head to the city-state of Pushini, located more than two hundred kilometers from Cairo, to participate in a war.
There was little to say about the Egyptian Pavilion. Mo Fan led the group into the challenge and settled it within an hour.
Although Egypt's team in this Venice Tournament had been the strongest dark horse—defeating America, Greece, and Britain, nearly seizing the championship and ultimately securing second place—that was all thanks to cheating with the Pharaoh's Spring. Their true level was far inferior.
Mo Fan had already defeated their National Institute Team, so defeating the Pavilion Guardians was no challenge at all.
After seizing the badge, Ai Jiangtu was overwhelmed with excitement, moved as he declared, "We have created a miracle. In the history of the National Institute Tournament, we are the only team to challenge every Pavilion without a single failure."
With those words, even Guan Yu, Nanrong Ni, Mu Yingtian—those without much sense of group responsibility—felt proud and honored.
To the outside world, the people across the globe, and even the other competing nations, China Nation's team was now regarded as the greatest contender for the championship. Regardless of past failures, they had risen once again.
Carrying the excitement of nearly completing their training, they took a vehicle to the city-state of Pushini, two hundred kilometers away.
The entire city bore an ancient Egyptian charm. Even the stone fences outside the city were preserved, and many of the streets and houses were built of stone. The gray-white tones gave it an austere and solemn atmosphere.
As Lu Jun and the others walked down the street, they occasionally saw injured people being carried on stretchers for treatment.
Mo Fan scratched his head and asked, "Weird, why are there so many injured people?"
"Before coming here, I heard there were disturbances in Pushini. It looks like the situation is worse than expected," Nan Jue said. She immediately noticed two Wind Element Mages carrying a white medical stretcher one after the other, racing swiftly down the wind tracks toward the center of the street.
The sight of the injured man on the stretcher was shocking. Both his legs had been torn clean off at the root, wrapped tightly in thick white cloth now soaked into a deep red, even staining the stretcher. The blood flowed nonstop, dripping down onto the ground.
Lu Jun sharply sensed the man's life force rapidly plummeting.
Witnessing this scene, the group's previously relaxed mood turned grave, the scent of battle heavy in the air.
Zhao Manyan said, "The direction they're heading… looks like the same place we're supposed to report to."
Following behind, the group soon arrived at a wide street where a number of white tents lined with golden trim stood. They appeared luxurious and grand, yet carried an air of holiness and sanctity.
Pedestrians rushed about in all directions, gathering and dispersing. Every injured person was carried into these tents.
Atop each of the ivory-gold tents was a flag bearing the emblem of a flower wheel. The flower wheel had been designed with meticulous precision, so that no matter the angle from which one viewed it, the petals and branches appeared similar yet mirrored.
Together, the countless petal and branch patterns formed a complete ivory-white flower wheel, radiating a halo of golden-blue light.
At a single glance at this emblem, one could tell it belonged to a world-renowned super organization. The glowing flower wheel, shining with a hue completely different from its background, was essentially an unforgeable mark of authenticity.
Upon seeing it, Nan Rongni, the healing mage of the team, was the first to reveal eyes full of reverence and longing.
Lu Jun knew this was the Parthenon Temple, one of the Eight Supreme Organizations of the world, the Holy Hall of White Magic, the sacred land every healing mage yearned for. He could clearly sense that the injured man who had lost both legs and was carried in earlier had his life force swiftly pulled back from the brink, returning to normal.
Mo Fan walked into the tent, and his gaze immediately locked onto a white-clothed angel sitting in a wheelchair. She was a beautiful maiden, with a gentle voice and flawless features.
Her fair and slender hands shone with a white brilliance, droplets of milky light falling down as she healed the man who had lost his legs.
A miracle occurred—bones sprouted bit by bit, muscle spread and grew along them, skin healed and wrapped around. A perfectly intact pair of legs reappeared—flesh and bone reborn, bringing the dead back to life!
This was the healing mage of the Parthenon Temple, bestowed with the temple's unique top-tier Healing magic system. Ordinary healing mages struggled bitterly even to stop bleeding and close wounds, let alone achieve something of this level.
The difference between the two was dozens, even hundreds of times!
Lu Jun narrowed his eyes. Just as the three major disciplines he studied in the Incan Empire—Summoning, Space, and Psychic—were ultimate methods, the Parthenon clearly had top-tier research in White Magic, covering Psychic, Healing, Plant, and Blessing systems, and perhaps in an even more perfected and mature form.
They could benefit the vast majority of mages, unlike his own one-of-a-kind inheritance.
"Thus it is that the present need not be inferior to the past…"
He sighed. If not for the gift from the Incan Empire allowing him to take a shortcut, compared to the accumulation of top-tier forces, he might have fallen somewhat behind.
At this moment, however, Mo Fan paid no attention to this miracle. He strode forward quickly, unable to believe that a once-strong, simple, girl-next-door had transformed into this noble, otherworldly, sacred mage. His voice trembled as he said, "Xin Xia! Why are you here?!"
The wheelchair-bound girl, who had been humbly calming the frenzied admiration and cheers around her, trembled at the sound of that familiar voice. She turned toward it at once, her beautiful eyes welling with tears, and called out in surprise and joy, "Brother Mo Fan!"
Yes, this Parthenon Temple mage was none other than Xin Xia.
Lu Jun had long known. Seeing the two of them now, it was as if he could hear the background music in his ears: "You are the wind~ I am the sand~ entangled forevermore~"
With tact, he led the others away, giving the pair some private space.
As the saying goes, seeing others stirs one's own feelings. He too began to miss his elder sister Lu Mei, Sister Tang Yue, and Ding Yumian. Soon, his world journey would come to an end, and the Venice Competition would begin. Then he could return home in glory.
Only Nan Rongni seemed somewhat lost. She understood everything and was struck deeply. As a direct descendant of the Nan Rong family, she did not even have the qualification to step into the Parthenon Temple to cultivate, yet an ordinary civilian girl could. Was it truly a difference in talent?!
For additional chapters
Versatile mage {40 chapters}
Douluo Dalu:This Soul Master is to Weird {30 Chapters}
Patreon. Com/ALLISWELL123