Diligence Kills

"Yawn."

Stretching, Bai Mo glanced at the time. It was two in the morning.

There were only fifteen days left until the national exam, so he planned to do a few more practice sets.

He had just picked up his pen when his vision suddenly went black. Then his perspective shifted, and he saw a figure lying motionless on the desk.

For some inexplicable reason, he knew that he had died.

Then his viewpoint continued to rise. He saw his room, then the dimly lit city, the blue-and-white planet, endless darkness, and a brilliant starry sky.

Next came a bizarre, fantastical expanse. Beyond it, four planes appeared in his field of vision—one bright, one dark, one prosperous, and one desolate.

Then his perspective continuously drew closer to that prosperous plane, but Bai Mo failed to notice—

As his soul passed through that desolate plane, a speck of warped, shifting divine light merged into the soul flying toward the prosperous plane!

"Watch closely. This man is called Xiao Shuai..."

Standing on the field of Zhi Lan Magic High School in Qingyuan District, Modu, Bai Mo waited for the awakening ceremony to begin while idly scrolling through short videos.

He completely ignored the homeroom teacher Su Ning's gaze, not to mention the principal's impassioned speech beneath the national flag.

Why was Bai Mo acting so arrogantly?

Because his surname was the same as the Modu Bai Family's. This high school happened to have Bai Family investments.

Of course, that only made the homeroom teacher pay a little more attention to her words and actions. The reason Su Ning did not stop him was—

First, it was only a minor matter. She also felt that the principal's speech was far too long-winded, especially since he had been using the same script for three years.

Second, the student named Bai Mo had quite the reputation. All the neighbors around his home knew that he only wanted to coast through life.

Yet his grades had not fallen behind, leaving the teachers at a loss for what to say.

"Cat News reports: A student from Changzhou First Magic High School suddenly died in class, and the cause was actually—"

Looking at the news on his phone about an outstanding Beginner Mage who had spent too long cultivating every night, suffered from lack of sleep, then attended classes and practiced control and spellcasting during the day, worked himself to death through excessive diligence and depleted energy, compounded by pressure from his parents, Bai Mo shook his head.

It was as if he had seen his past-life self.

Just keep grinding yourselves into the ground!

Of course, little-known news platforms like this mostly exaggerated, fabricated stories, and took things out of context.

Still, he could not be bothered to think about it. Why refute a video that aligned with his own views?

The words "a Beginner Mage died from diligence" were clearly anti-grind culture propaganda.

Beginner Mages could work themselves to death too. That was rather strange, although a Beginner Mage's physique was not much different from an ordinary person's.

So, grinding was unacceptable.

As for how Bai Mo, who rejected grind culture, had gotten into magic high school—

Even Bai Mo himself found that puzzling. He had not put much effort into his nine years of compulsory education, so how had he ended up getting into high school?

When the results came out, he pondered it for a long time before finally deciding that the other students in his district simply were not as smart.

Besides, he believed that since his family background was good and his older brother was talented, there was absolutely no need for him to work hard or grind himself too much! He should leave himself some free time and enjoy life properly.

But since he had come to this extraordinary Magic World, Bai Mo felt that awakening as a mage was still necessary.

He did not need to be strong, but he could not be nothing!

More importantly, this world was too dangerous, and it was even less suitable for showing off.

Thus, compared to his classmates attending all sorts of advanced classes, elite courses, and training camps, he seemed especially laid-back.

Yet even like this, he had ranked first in the entire district and entered high school.

Bai Mo could only assume that his peers had not fully developed their potential yet.

As for the rumors that he had given up and was just coasting, Bai Mo could only say that rumors stopped with the wise.

Besides, what business was it of theirs if he traded barbs with his family?

He did not work particularly hard, but he was still some distance from completely giving up.

And if he did not enjoy himself before becoming a mage, he would not have nearly as much time to play after becoming one.

Whenever Bai Mo thought of what he would have to face after becoming a mage, he cherished even more the carefree days that had already died with his past life.

Did anyone really attend cram schools and hobby classes without missing a single one from the day they were born?

It was not that he rejected working hard; he simply was not ready to part with his current leisurely days.

After all, knowing the changes that would soon occur in the full magic world, he was well aware of Modu's future fate.

Three dancing girls had already cycled through on the short-video app when the principal finally finished his speech.

"Students, line up! When your name is called, come forward to awaken your magic!"

The homeroom teacher Su Ning's shout instantly roused the drowsy crowd.

Hearing the commotion, Bai Mo turned off his phone as well. Its dark screen reflected a handsome young man with a high nose bridge, sharp brows, and an air of carefree irreverence.

He put away his phone and looked ahead.

At the front of the line, before Su Ning—the tall homeroom teacher with chin-length short hair and silver-rimmed glasses—sat a black stone about the size of a basketball.

Su Ning called the first name:

"Bai Mo!"

Hearing this, Bai Mo stepped out of the line. His classmates' curious, impressed, and disdainful looks, along with Su Ning's headache-inducing expression, all entered his view.

In just a few steps, Bai Mo arrived before the Awakening Stone.

Only when he got close did he realize that the Awakening Stone resembled a compass and was not entirely spherical. Within its black surface, faint multicolored lights swirled.

Seeing him approach, the homeroom teacher said:

"Begin. Place your hand on it and calm your mind."

She did not have any particular expectations for Bai Mo. Unlike the Dongfang Family of Modu or the Mu Clan of Tiandu, the Modu Bai Family did not treat any single element as its inherited element.

Bai Mo nodded lightly, extending his long, fair right hand and placing it on the Awakening Stone.

The icy touch quickly calmed his nervous excitement.

Closing his eyes, with the help of the fluctuations emitted by the Awakening Stone, his consciousness entered his Mental World for the first time.

It was pitch-black here. Something was needed to illuminate it.

The moment that thought flashed through his mind, Bai Mo saw a glimmer of silver light in the very center of the darkness.

"Silver!"

"It's the Space Element!"

Outside, Bai Mo's classmates also saw the brilliant, mysterious silver radiance emanating from the Awakening Stone before him.

It illuminated his entire body.

They immediately recognized what it was—

The Space Element!!!

Although these children who had grown up in Modu had seen more than most, witnessing the one-in-ten-thousand Space Element was still enough to amaze them!

The commotion from Class 1 Grade 1 also drew the attention of nearby students.

Another round of shouts broke out. People never lacked an interest in watching excitement.

Su Ning looked at the student opening his eyes before her, surprise still lingering on her face. But the flash of silver in Bai Mo's eyes quickly drew back her attention.

Thus, based on her basic understanding of Bai Mo, her duty as a teacher compelled her to remind him:

"Bai Mo, you have awakened the Space Element, and your talent is excellent. I hope you cultivate diligently in the future and do not waste your potential."

"Got it, Teacher Su. Please continue."

A faint smile appeared on Bai Mo's face. After greeting her, he returned to the line.

The surrounding classmates openly or secretly watched him, wanting to strike up a conversation. But after hearing the rumors about him, they did not dare approach.

"Is he Bai Mo?"

"Yeah. They say he doesn't fit in. Everyone else attends teachers' cram classes after school, but he's the only one who doesn't."

"Oh..."

Bai Mo paid no attention to their discussions.

Instead, he wondered how his two parents would react to him awakening the Space Element.

They would probably urge him to cultivate properly.

Just like how parents in his past life had told their children to study hard.

He had to cultivate, sure, but cultivating on his own initiative and being constantly urged and lectured by others were two different things. They felt different.

What he feared most was suddenly having every hour of every day forcibly scheduled for him.

People always needed time to adapt.

Besides, Bai Mo felt that it was fine to take things step by step.

His brother had become a High-Level Mage at only twenty-three. His future was bright, and he could fully shoulder the family's responsibilities! Bai Mo could just be an ordinary little nobody.

Just kidding. The important thing was... well, fine, he simply wanted to arrange things himself.

But the old man had a lot of affairs to handle every day, while his mom was busy helping people play mahjong.

They probably would not notice something as minor as him awakening today, right?!

Shaking his head, Bai Mo temporarily turned his attention to the students awakening on the field.

He did not care who had awakened some insanely powerful element. He only wanted to see whether there were any pretty girls.

So he could feast his eyes a little and relax.

What Bai Mo had not expected was that, after searching, he actually found one.

Beside his class, a slender, graceful girl was slowly walking toward her class's Awakening Stone.

Her temperament was like an orchid hidden in an empty valley—quiet, elegant, and serene. Her steps were poised and unhurried, carrying a naturally ethereal charm.

Her waterfall-like black hair was tied with a green ribbon, swaying back and forth in the breeze stirred by her steps.