Chapter 11

"That was awesome Xiaohou!." Some of the boys cheered Xiaohou.

Even some of the girls joined in. It seemed like they swung sides with whoever was stronger, even though he was decent-looking.

Xue Musheng was feeling like he was in heaven. Xiaohou was able to turn up with such shocking results, even without Mu Bai, Xue Musheng probably has the title of Best Teacher in the bag. He started to overthink his abilities as a teacher and thought. 'Maybe I should start demanding more money from school!'

Not only was Tangyue impressed by Xiaohou, but she now acknowledged Mo Fan's felicity in his drive to train Xiaohou. She had been observing Xiaohou and Mo Fan lately, and the tests don't even show half of what they can really do.

Xiaohou finished his exam and walked back to his spot with his head up high. "Nicely done Xiaohou!" Mo Fan held out a fist and looked smugly at Mu Bai and Zhao Kunsan.

The two pairs of eyes glared at Mo Fan like they were ready to fight at any time. "Brother Fan, we shouldn't try to compare our poor family backgrounds with those two. They are actually really strong!" Xiaohou mocked them at impeccable timing.

Zhao Kunsan had such a small pupil. It was almost non-existent, and he looked like a machine gun about to rapid-fire. Mu Bai exhaled and calmed Zhao Kusan despite his worrying situation. "It is fine."

Mo Fan knew that they didn't have anything else to say once Xiaohou and he unveiled their strength.

Nevertheless, the exam continued. The students of eight classes were receiving their examinations, one by one. The majority of the students were B and C; there didn't seem to be many A's.

"Look, the people of the school council are almost here." (a random boy who noticed their neighboring class)

"They are at the seventh class' exam grounds… The one taking the test is that Lightning Element guy." (Chen Bao)

"Xu Zhaoting would probably be the second person to get all S." (Sun Xiang)

Xiaohou whispered to Mo Fan. "Is Xu Zhaoting strong?"

"It will depend on his ability, but he is weaker than you in both cultivation and casting experience." Mo Fan answered honestly according to his past life.

"How do you know?" Xiaohou was genuinely impressed by Brother Fan's skill in reading everyone's ability.

Mo Fan was nearly about to spill his pact. "Um… Just watch."

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As it was planned, the School Council group arrived as soon as Xu Zhaoting was going to get evaluated.

"Old brother Mu Zhuoyun, this is our school's most outstanding Lightning Element student; his name is Xu Zhaoting. When he awakened his Lightning Element a year ago, I, as the Principal, began to pay close attention to him. He's currently doing the Activation test; care to watch?" the Principal of Tian Lan Magic High said to Mu Zhuoyun.

(AN: they missed Xiaohou's performance, so the principal didn't catch wind of Xiaohou's ability. +1 pun. )

The Principal was very polite toward Mu Zhuoyun; thus, it was obvious that Mu Zhuoyun's status within Bo City was very high.

"Ningxue, why don't you take a look at this student's performance."

"Mhm," Mu Ningxue nodded.

Lightning element, the first of the elements. Its violent, destructive force was enough to make other Magicians take several steps back.

Xu Zhaoting was a bit nervous because he was talked around the whole year with his Lightning Element. Many students and teachers paid extra attention to Xu Zhaoting.

"Strike of Lightning!"

As the sounds faded, he raised a hand.

The purple Lightning Arc surged; a streak of lightning bolt similar to a snake cut down to the puppet, twirling through the atmosphere and burning everything they touched.

*Boom* It was charred from the drop of the violent Lightning Strike. One second it was there, another second it was gone, the puppet was erased out of existence like nothing by sheer force. The only thing that remained was the black marks and dust on the ground.

The heaven-defying Lightning element skill immediately stole the attention of the entire exam grounds.

Simply terrifying, at this moment, all students were brought back to the reality that Lightning Strike stood supreme against any of the primary elements. It was merely nothing in front of it. What would a small water shield do? Quench its thirst?

After Xu Zhaoting saw this result, his face revealed satisfaction. He got B+ for his magic casting result. Although looking satisfied, he thought of the neighboring classmate, Xiaohou. 'How did he come out on top? I should ask him how he trained.'

As he turned around, he, who was waiting for the examiners to deliver his results, suddenly noticed a pair of beautiful eyes that looked like snow.

It was Mu Ningxue!

Xu Zhaoting's face was filled with a pleasant surprise.

He didn't think his examination would catch Mu Ningxue's attention.

She was definitely startled; after all, the power of the Lightning element wasn't something any other element could compare to.

"Ningxue, what do you think?" The school supervisor, Mu He, asked with a smile across his face.

"Average," Mu Ningxue simply stated, not disrespecting him.

Mo Fan barely overheard Ningxue. He started to chuckle which turned into laughter. It was just like her. The response was too much like her.

Xiaohou asked, "Why are you laughing?"

Mo Fan replied, "Xu Zhaoting is probably the top five in our school, but she called him average."

Xiaohou was shocked, "What kind of standard does she have!"

Mo Fan sighed, "She is just one of those people who would only be interested in strong people."

Meanwhile, the adults around Mu Ningxue tried to fish out of the awkward and shocking situation. Mu He coughed and changed the conversation. "Xu Zhaoting might not be the top student! Mu Bai is probably the best. He's Mu Yang's son. I brought him to live in the manor when his father passed away. He is very intelligent and determined to be the best; of course, there will be a huge gap when comparing to Mu Ningxue, but he is still a good seed." Mu He very cautiously laid out Mu Bai to Mu Zhouyun.

Mo Fan didn't even have to confirm what he heard, he already knew that sly double-faced fox was doing.

(Hydro check before Mu Bai's fall. Make sure to drink your water!! Here's a fun fact: Only about 3% of water is safe to drink. Other 97% is all saltwater.)

The esteemed group moved on from Class 7 to Class 8.

Everyone watched the group walk toward their testing ground. Many people were unable to calm themselves, and many murmurs were passed around. The amount of pressure was heavily added on top of the existing ones.

"Heavens, the group of directors is coming here." A girl announced.

"Good timing; just in time for me to show off." A boy nearby said with confidence.

"Show off my ass; your test is already over. You're just a dreg with a 'C!'" The girl remarked.

Mo Fan said to Xiaohou. "If only you took your test later, you could have probably attracted some attention. Sorry monkey. Looks like I get my chance to show off!"

Xiaohou replied. "It is fine Brother Fan! You are the one who taught me so well. Make sure to show them who is the best!"

Mu Bai's mind wasn't in the best condition; the number of worries kept stacking up. He lost the Shadow Stone, a vital factor to kick Mo Fan out, and another side of his mind worried about Xiaohou. 'I must be better than Xiaohou. If I am not, am I not even better than Mo Fan's dog.' Now, the additional thoughts of Xu Zhaoting's performance and the Mu Family's high expectation spiraled him into nervousness.

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Mu He walked in front of the group, and he made sure to get the attention of the bald examiner. The bald examiner saw them coming and called out loudly. "Next, Mu Bai."

'Shit, I need to refocus.' Mu Bai quickly paced up.

Mo Fan who saw the worried face of Mu Bai already knew the results. His arrogant nature is gone, and now it is like a headless chicken trying to not fall over.

Mu Bai tried to regain his confidence. He placed his slightly shaky hands on the Appraisal Stone and focused all his might on his Ice Element. He achieved the overflow radiance, but it lacked stability.

"S-!"

"S-!"

"S!" (Of course given by the bald examiner.)

Mu Bai was shocked; it was barely an S grade. 'Should I ask for a retry to just continue?' He was stuck in a particular position. If he were to ask for another chance, he would look bad in front of the audience, but if he doesn't, S- is not an impressive grade in front of the group.

Internal conflicts kept distracting him from his surroundings.

Everyone was in awe of Mu Bai to a certain extent. It wasn't as bright or glorious as Xiaohou's.

Mu He tried to hide away his surprised face.

Only Xue Musheng was loudly applauded at the grade. "Great job Mu Bai! You were nearly as good as Xiaohou."

While other students were slightly surprised at the results.

"Shit! Both Mu Bai and Xiaohou are too insane. Both achieved the S grade!" (Random boy)

"Hey, I thought Mu Bai was our #1? Now is it Zhang Xiaohou?" Sun Xiang started the gossip.

"Hmm… I think his star cluster's radiance should be on par with Xiaohou, not below it. I think he might be having a bad day." Chen Bao concluded.

Just like wildfire, comments started to be passed around to everyone's ears. Eventually, it reached the group's ears, and they were interested in who Xiaohou was.

"I thought Xu Zhaoting was one of the best students! Who is this Xiaohou you are talking about? How did someone like him get around the same score?" Mu He was a little frenetic by the atmosphere.

"Apparently Zhang Xiaohou scored all S like Mu Bai. This student was able to cast magic proficiently!" An examiner explained to the School Council Group.

"Big brother, what do you think?" Mu He was nervous to ask but did it anyway.

"Not bad," Mu Zhuoyun gave a brief comment. "But I want to see who this Zhang Xiaohou everyone is talking about."

Mu Ningxue, however, didn't say anything.

Mu Bai hesitantly continued to take the Activation Test. He was ballistic of himself and the monkey, who stole some of fame and glory. He had to make sure that his magic casting was top-notch and quick; thus, he tried to fasten his pace from usual.

He closed his eyes and began his magic incantations. Mu Bai made the seven Ice element stars connect with each other to form a Star Path around 7.5 seconds.

"Ice Spread!"

Mu Bai yelled this in a rush, demonstrating all of his hard work and attracting all the attention back.

The ice quickly ran over every part of the puppet, and it didn't stop there. The ice closest to the ground creaked onto the training grounds. Other Ice Element students have activated Ice Spread, but it was as skillful as Mu Bai's!

"Not bad." Mu Zhuoyun still gave the same evaluation. Mu Bai has gotten attention and praise from students and teachers, but as he checked Mu Ningxue, she was staring at Mo Fan. He felt like killing Mo Fan! Why would such a prestigious lady watch out for such a low-life? What is there to look at in a guy who is almost covered in trash? Why aren't you looking at my remarkable display of skill?!

Mu Bai was devastated. He lowered his head like he just lost an important basketball game. "I will make sure that her eyes will only be on me! Mo Fan, today is where you suffer greatly." Mu Bai swore under his breath.

"Your marks are extremely outstanding. Your stardust is S-, and your activation is of B- grade!" the examiner gave him his final results.

With the results, Zhang Xiaohou took over Mu Bai's seemingly forever #1 spot. His head down, Mu Bai walked down the stage from his disastrous performance. He looked nasty and abysmal. Mu He pulled Mu Bai's arm aside. "What happened today? What's with the lacking results? Did you put the thing on?"

Mu Bai thought all is lost. He wanted to be erased out of the world right now. Anywhere is better than here right now. His absolute pride was in shambles and the mask of arrogance fell off Mu Bai's face.

Meanwhile, Xue Musheng was wearing a smug face. He was the teacher of two students who had gotten S grades and B in Activation, and he felt like he had gotten a glimpse of heaven.