Bai Mo's outstanding performance at Zhi Lan Magic High School was reported to Bai Yuanzhi by someone with an interest in the matter.
Although this son of his was not particularly reliable, he was still his biological son.
Even if Bai Yuanzhi, as his father, did not care about certain developments, others would, and they would find various ways to inform him, the patriarch of the Bai Family.
Patriarch Bai was somewhat surprised as well. Through occasional observation over the past year, he had basically confirmed something.
His second son was quite talented, but he himself apparently did not realize it. Perhaps.
As for Bai Mo constantly shouting about wanting to coast through life as a freeloader, lie flat, enjoy himself, and be treated like an ancestor—
Every time Patriarch Bai heard it, he could not help getting angry and wanting to give his son a beating.
But judging by how he had performed after awakening his magic, he was not as worthless as his words made him sound.
A classic case of saying no while his body remained honest.
Patriarch Bai smiled faintly.
Judging by the operating time of the Ninxin Formation carved into his room, the brat had not slacked off on his daily meditation.
The Space Weightlifting Device the family had bought had gone from one jin to one kilogram, then one hundred kilograms, then five hundred kilograms. As for how much it had reached now, he no longer knew.
After all, the largest Space Weightlifting Device was rated for one ton, and the one-ton device at home seemed not to have been used for quite some time.
Could such diligent training of Mental Power possibly be faked?
Facts spoke louder than words. His son was a tsundere, no doubt about it.
Bai Yuanzhi nodded, pleased with his own powers of deduction.
Personality was not that important. As long as the child displayed good talent and was willing to cultivate, he had ample reason to mobilize family resources to support him.
Didn't want to compete? There was more than one way to compete.
Follow the usual schedule? They could arrange things flexibly!
He would not expose him. He would just give him the resources, and it was up to him whether he used them.
"Bai Shan, take this document and fetch a Stardust Magic Tool that can improve cultivation speed. Send it to Mo'er."
Bai Yuanzhi looked at the resource allocation document he had just signed and gave instructions to the secretary waiting by the door.
"Yes, Patriarch!"
Propping his chin on one hand as he sat at his new desk, Bai Mo let the wind blowing in from the sports field mess up his bangs while he tossed the two Pendants in his hand.
One was a Stardust Magic Tool. The other was one too.
The school moved quickly. After the annual assessment was completed and the classes had been assigned, the Stardust Magic Tools originally meant for the three top classes were distributed.
As the first-place student, he naturally got to enjoy one first.
Bai Mo had not expected that, at noon, Patriarch Bai's secretary would bring him another Stardust Magic Tool.
He said it was allocated by the family because of Bai Mo's excellent performance.
He had also emphasized that the main function of this Stardust Magic Tool was to increase cultivation speed.
Has Patriarch Bai accepted my persona? he mused. Then this Stardust Magic Tool meant to encourage me to grind is useless, isn't it?
The two Stardust Magic Tools rising and falling through the air drew the attention of the surrounding classmates.
A small spatial rift silently opened along the path of the falling Pendants. It swallowed the one that fell first, then closed.
He had created a space for himself. Logically, this ability was an Intermediate Level application, but when he tried it, he found that he had succeeded.
However, there was not much Magic Energy left in his Stardust, and the space was not very large.
He would need to gradually expand it with his spatial abilities.
Bai Mo glanced at the Stardust Magic Tool in his palm, the one the school had given him. Then he looked up at the girl standing before his desk.
"Zhao Qingying, did you need something from me?"
At the same time, he briefly recalled the classmate in front of him.
He seemed to have some impression of her. She had probably been in the same class as him before, a descendant of one of the Zhao Consortium's branches in Modu.
A smile blossomed across Zhao Qingying's freckled face. Her voice was neutral and quite straightforward.
"Bai Mo, I see you have two Stardust Magic Tools. Their effects don't stack. Could you give me the usage quota for the one the school assigned you? I'm willing to pay one million."
The Stardust Magic Tool the school had given Bai Mo had a usage period of exactly two months. Stardust Magic Tools could be rented outside for around three hundred thousand a month.
That was the official rate.
But because there were so many Beginner Mages, demand for Stardust Magic Tools was high. Even in resource-rich Modu, having money did not necessarily mean one could rent one.
"Sure."
He had no use for it anyway, so Bai Mo agreed immediately and tossed the Pendant in his hand to her.
"Take it."
"Thank you!"
Zhao Qingying's eyes lit up. She caught the Pendant, took a card from her pocket, and handed it to Bai Mo.
"There's one million on this. The password is written on the back."
Then she left without looking back.
Bai Mo looked at the card and tossed it into the Storage Space he had created. Thinking it over, he realized he now had more than ten million in savings, and he could not help grinning.
Perhaps it was a case of joy turning to sorrow. On a road beside Riverside Park in Qingyuan District, Bai Mo was riding home after school when he suddenly heard several screams.
He slowed down and turned toward where the screams had come from. A toad the size of a millstone, with the head of a sparrow, a shit-yellow body, and countless pustules, had appeared from nowhere.
Drawing on his usual knowledge, Bai Mo quickly recognized it.
It was one of Modu's unique Servant Level Monster Beasts: a Sparrow-headed Yellow Toad.
It looked like it was fleeing. After knocking several pedestrians flying, it kicked off with its legs and charged straight toward Bai Mo.
The pedestrians around him, who had mostly already fled, immediately ran even faster. Some kind-hearted people even shouted:
"Young man, run!"
Run? Bai Mo had no such intention. He was a mage. How could he flee like an ordinary person when facing a Demon Beast?
Still, seeing the Sparrow-headed Yellow Toad for the first time, it really was as disgusting as the books depicted. That only made Bai Mo less willing to let it get close.
He glanced at the few small black dots rapidly approaching behind the charging Sparrow-headed Yellow Toad.
Understanding flashed through Bai Mo's eyes as he shouted.
"Watch my Great Wilderness Cloud Dispelling Palm!"
Without stopping his bicycle, he swung his arm and slapped toward the Demon Beast charging from five meters away.
A silver Star Orbit followed the motion of his arm, tracing a brilliant arc of starlight.
The air twisted slightly, followed by a single explosive boom.
"Bang!!!"
As though it had crashed headfirst into an oncoming wave, the Sparrow-headed Yellow Toad was sent flying by the Space Power Bai Mo unleashed.
"Croak, croak~~~"
Bai Mo watched the shrieking Demon Beast fly backward, where it was dealt with by the City Demon Hunting Squad that had caught up.
With a blank expression and the air of an expert, Bai Mo thought to himself:
Looks like Level Two Mind Control - Disperse works pretty well.
Space Magic made very little commotion when activated and had no obvious characteristics.
Therefore, those people did not seem to realize that Bai Mo had helped them. They merely stared at the suddenly limp Demon Beast on the ground and discussed something.
Bai Mo had no desire to show off. He pushed down on the pedals and continued riding home.
Only beneath the pavilion at the roadside bus stop did two girls watch his departing figure with thoughtful expressions.
One girl with a generous bosom tugged at the sleeve of the ethereally beautiful girl beside her and said:
"That handsome guy was pretty amazing. Great Wilderness Cloud Dispelling Palm! So cool! Too bad I didn't see his whole face. What do you think, Jiaojiao?"
"Tutu, you don't know what he used just now?" Mu Nujiao rolled her eyes, somewhat speechless at her lovestruck sister.
She did not believe Aitutu could not tell what kind of magic that boy had just used.
After all, her brother was a Space Element mage.
"I know! Great Wilderness Cloud Dispelling Palm! I'm going to tell my brother!"
"Childish."
"Hehe~"
Mu Nujiao ignored her giggling sister and asked seriously:
"Tutu, what do you think of that boy's Mind Control just now?"
Seeing Mu Nujiao's serious expression, Aitutu put away some of her playfulness and tilted her head in thought.
"It looked like Mind Control - Disperse. It was way cooler than when my brother uses it!"
"Tutu~" Mu Nujiao said reproachfully.
"Fine, fine. Hmm... to send a Sparrow-headed Yellow Toad flying, he'd need at least a Level Two Mental Realm."
After saying that, Aitutu blinked and added, "Jiaojiao, that's all I know. He was wearing the Zhi Lan Magic High School uniform, so why not..."
Before you continue