Mo Bai's eyes were wide as he bit down on his lower lip, fury aimed squarely at himself. 'I couldn't even control myself… my own emotions. I'm still too weak. Not just physically... but mentally too.'
"Mo Bai." The calm voice of Mo Shen pulled him back to reality, dragging him away from the spiral of self-reproach. Mo Bai lifted his head, locking eyes with his father, silently waiting.
"It's done. What's happened has already happened. The clan leader will find out it was you—there's no hiding that. So, we act accordingly."
"Continue with your plan. Keep robbing the other students. The more resources you gather, the faster you'll break through. It also gives you more experience fighting in groups. You'll grow stronger faster. And on top of that, the younger generation of our faction will rise above Yi's group. The clan leader will see this as a worthy contribution and look the other way. Just don't act recklessly like this again. Weigh the risks and rewards carefully next time. That's what I taught you, Mo Bai."
"Understood. I've already told Mo Fan exactly what to say to convince the clan leader. One of the main points I told him to stress was accelerating the growth of the clan's youth. If the leader calls for me, I'll be ready. Don't worry—I won't let this plan fall apart." Mo Bai stood from his chair, a determined look on his face, voice low but resolute.
"I'll be going now. I need to begin training."
"Go. I trust you'll be able to execute a perfect plan. Don't let our years of work go to waste," Mo Shen replied, his face as unreadable as ever, but his tone carried unmistakable confidence.
Mo Bai nodded at his father before leaving the office, his thoughts sharp and steady. 'I won't let that old leader sense a thing. I'll make everything flawless again.'
Once Mo Bai was gone, Mo Shen allowed himself the faintest smile—his usual one. He never showed any weakness in front of his son. As he tapped lightly on the wooden desk, he thought, 'It's not nearly as risky as I made it sound. The benefits outweigh the danger, especially since Mo Bai already warned Mo Fan. But this way, he'll be more cautious in the future. I don't want constant success to blind him to reason.'
...
A full week passed.
Mo Bai trained with relentless focus, mastering his newly enhanced physical strength. His control over lightning improved significantly too. Thanks to the abundance of Nia Stones he'd obtained, he barely took breaks—only sleeping three hours a day.
Now, in the same large training ground where they'd spent the entire week refining their elemental control, the instructor stood alone next to a strange, tall device. His expression was serious, a quiet authority radiating from him. The weaker students could feel the weight of it, the atmosphere pressing down on them. But the stronger ones—those used to clan leaders and elders—shrugged it off like a passing breeze.
"Today, we test your control over your element. It doesn't matter what type it is, or how powerful. This test neutralizes all elemental advantages. Only your control will be evaluated. So show me what you've honed this past week—the rewards are greater than ever before."
"This is great! If elemental advantage doesn't matter, then I can definitely rank high. I used up every last Nia Stone I had just to get into the top ten. I'm confident this time," said Mo Zun, clenching his fist and flashing a confident smile.
"Yeah, we really did benefit from all those Nia Stones. My father didn't want to let me get the physical strength engraving at first—it drained a lot of our savings—but once he saw how profitable all this is, he finally agreed," Mo Liu added beside him, his smile bright with satisfaction.
Several nearby students glared at them with unconcealed hatred.
'Damn these bastards. This time, we'll crush them. No way we let them rob us like last week again.' One student clenched his fist tightly, glancing at a few others next to him. They all nodded in unison, eyes burning with resolve.
Meanwhile, Mo Bai stood silently, mind racing through possibilities—not just for the test, but everything that would follow. His eyes shimmered with dangerous intelligence. 'The sheer amount of Nia Stones I got… I've gained a lot. I can secure fourth place for sure. Third is still hard—Yi Kang will definitely get all the resources he needs to keep training.'
'But that doesn't matter much. The test's reward is nothing compared to what bullying yields. What matters is what happens after this… after the test… after the resource gathering session once I leave the academy.'
The instructor spoke again, loud but composed, gesturing to the tall, brown device beside him. It was merely a protective frame, shielding a thin white thread stretched down the center of a long slot. Markings ran alongside it, numbered from 1 to 100.
"This is the Balance Thread. It's the core of this test. Made from a rare neutral material, it has no weakness to any element. When you channel your energy into it, it will shift color to match your element."
"But… the challenge lies here: any small instability in your control will distort the thread, and it will break easily. The test is to maintain your elemental control and extend the color shift across as much of the thread as possible. Your score will range from 1 to 100, depending on how far the color travels."
The instructor paused for thirty seconds, giving the students time to digest the instructions. No one spoke.
Then he looked down at the list in his hands and called out calmly:
"The test begins now. We'll go from last place in the previous test to first. One by one. Si Nam, step forward."
A girl named Si Nam walked toward the instructor, crossing the grey-tiled platform. Her fingers were trembling slightly from nervousness.
'The test has begun... but my real test starts after I return from the academy,' Mo Bai thought, his eyes flickering with sharp light as he watched her.
'A perfect plan is in place. Just waiting on the target's reaction.'