Chapter 23

Gao San’s teacher office.

Li Xiang rubbed his aching shoulders while glaring at Lin Mo and said:

“Speak up—what exactly happened?”

Lin Mo looked slightly puzzled: “What?”

Li Xiang snorted: “Zhang Dahai already told me—you deliberately slipped away early.”

That bastard betrayed me!

Lin Mo silently cursed inwardly, then forced a bitter smile:

“Teacher Li, Teacher Nong Qing didn’t seem to take an interest in me.”

Li Xiang chuckled dryly, immediately exposing his lie: “Teacher Nong Qing himself told me he wants to recruit you into Xuan Yuan Dao Academy—still pretending?”

This old man knows too much… Lin Mo thought grimly—he’d be stuck in a lecture until evening self-study ended.

Li Xiang continued:

“Don’t you know your own talent? Getting a direct recommendation to Xuan Yuan Dao Academy is already ancestral virtue!”

“Even if Teacher Nong Qing was just testing you to gauge Ye Chen’s reaction, it’s still a once-in-a-millennium opportunity—doesn’t matter if it’s a blind cat or a dead cat, if it catches a mouse, it’s a good cat!”

As he spoke, his gaze grew serious:

“The Dao path is long—don’t ruin a hard-won chance over a momentary fit of temper. Only after you truly step onto the cultivation path can you even dream of fighting for your future.”

Lin Mo, who had been about to activate the skill “Yin Spirit Out of Body,” was suddenly silenced by Li Xiang’s “Sincerity” skill.

As he spoke, Li Xiang’s tone grew heated:

“When Ye Chen first entered Class Ten three years ago, who could’ve imagined he’d earn the title ‘Child of Fortune’?”

“You’re the same—three years ago, let alone three hours ago, I never thought your Dao Exam score would hit 455, let alone catch the eye of a Dao Academy Immortal Master. How great is this blessing? Do you even realize…?”

Lin Mo suddenly recalled the rumors about Old Li—apparently, he’d missed the admission cutoff by just one point back then.

If he’d just pushed a little harder those final days before the exam, that one point would’ve been within reach.

Old Li wouldn’t be a middle-aged teacher at a regular school—he’d be a cultivator as young as Lin Mo.

His intense focus on Ye Chen? Probably because the luck he’d lost back then now overflowed in a “Child of Fortune” like Ye Chen.

Now, there was another Lin Mo in the class.

Li Xiang was both excited and angry: “You—you’ve got to cherish your talent. No, your damn luck!”

How “good” Lin Mo’s talent truly was, Nong Qing might not know—but as his homeroom teacher for three years, Li Xiang knew perfectly.

How could he break through two layers so quickly, even reach the peak of Kuixing Zhu training? To say it was pure luck wasn’t realistic.

But in the cultivation world, asking about someone’s realm or probing their spiritual roots or talent was acceptable—but never, ever probing their fortune.

It was an unspoken rule, meant to deter cultivators with ulterior motives toward fortune.

So Li Xiang didn’t press Lin Mo on how he’d suddenly broken through to Qi Refining 4th Layer.

In this great cultivation age, fortune and blessings happened daily—it wasn’t unusual.

Lin Mo watched Old Li, face flushed with emotion, grinned, and handed him the thermos filled with goji berries:

“Teacher Li, drink some water and calm down. My sneaking out had my own reasons.”

Old Li glared at him: “What reasons? Refusing Xuan Yuan is your reason?”

Before he finished speaking, he snatched the thermos and gulped it down, then heard Lin Mo say:

“Ye Chen wants to apply to the Nine Great Dao Academies—I want to try too. Maybe I’ll…”

“Pfft!”

Old Li spat out goji berries, eyes wide:

“You’re puffing up because I called you fat?”

“Ye Chen’s a Child of Fortune, now at Qi Refining 7th Layer—he can try the Nine Great Dao Academies. What about you?”

“You, Qi Refining 4th Layer, want to apply to the Nine Great Dao Academies? You could raise your pillow higher at night, hah!”

Old Li sneered at him.

Just moments ago he’d been the benevolent mentor—how did the tone shift so suddenly…? Lin Mo mentally groaned, but couldn’t help asking:

“Teacher Li, what are the special requirements to apply to the Nine Great Dao Academies?”

Seeing he still wouldn’t give up, Li Xiang pointed at him in exasperation:

“You’re not going to believe it until you see the coffin?”

He slammed the cup down, snorted:

“Fine—I’ll tell you. The most basic requirement to apply to the Nine Great Dao Academies is…”

“Qi Refining 7th Layer.”

Lin Mo nodded calmly: “Oh, so that’s how it is…”

Li Xiang froze—the expected shock didn’t come. Lin Mo didn’t seem regretful about his decision after the Dao Exam.

This kid really had no sense of his own limits…

Even seasoned teacher Li Xiang found Lin Mo frustrating.

Zhang Dahai, that self-destructive trash, was one thing—as long as he didn’t disrupt others, it was fine.

But a smart student like Lin Mo, once stubborn, was the hardest to handle.

Li Xiang now felt drained:

“Be realistic. Your score’s decent in Nanshan, but among the million Dao Exam candidates in Qinzhou, it’s only average to below-average.”

“You should know many Dao Academies don’t just require exam scores—they demand strict standards on spiritual roots, talent, and bone structure.”

“You know what giving up Xuan Yuan Dao Academy’s recommendation means—I won’t waste words repeating it.”

“Go home and think it over again. The Nine Great Dao Academies won’t let you in just because of your face.”

Suddenly complimenting him… Lin Mo bowed deeply to Li Xiang:

“Thank you for your teaching, Teacher Li. I understand—I’ll think it over carefully.”

Li Xiang’s earnest words weren’t meant to mock Lin Mo.

On the contrary, he understood smart students like him well.

No amount of persuasion worked—only laying out the pros and cons, then letting him reflect alone.

“Alright, go rest. Give me a definite answer tomorrow.”

Li Xiang waved him off.

Watching Lin Mo perform a Dao salute, then turn and vanish at the office door, he sighed helplessly.

The middle-aged bald man beside him chuckled:

“Old Li, don’t be mad. This kid’s smart—he’ll figure it out.”

Then he showed a look of envy:

“I’m so jealous—first Ye Chen, now Lin Mo. You’re really hitting the jackpot—your bonus’s gonna double again this year!”

Hearing “bonus,” Li Xiang’s expression softened slightly. He smiled and replied:

“Can you top me?”

The bald man sighed:

“Don’t tease me—Zhu Hongyuan begged to be accepted and still got turned down. Look at your two boys—they’ve rejected Immortal Masters twice.”

Li Xiang chuckled: “Forget Zhu Hongyuan—didn’t you hear? The one in your class just turned down over ten Dao Academy recommendations!”

Hearing this, the other silent teachers joined the conversation.

“Old Li, your info’s outdated—Baihua Dao Academy of the Nine Great Dao Academies came calling just days ago. Got turned down too.”

“Rejecting a Nine Great Dao Academy recommendation? Wow—never happened since Nanshan School was founded. Incredible.”

“Compared to you, Old Wang’s the real lucky bastard—he snagged that gem. I’m green with envy!”

“By the way, I heard Qing Shan Sect and Wen Dao Academy’s recruiters are coming to school tomorrow. That one’s finally going to pick her academy.”

“…”

The teachers chattered back and forth.

The bald man wore a faint smile, occasionally playing humble.

Good—finally talking about my class.

Zhu Hongyuan, whom he’d always prized, had been overshadowed by those two boys in Old Li’s class—it annoyed him.

No matter how talented Ye Chen and Lin Mo were, they were just “lucky ones.”

Only his precious gem was a true genius.

Whether Ye Chen or Lin Mo, neither matched her level.

The bald man glanced at Old Li, a subtle smirk flickering in his eyes.

As long as he held this “precious gem,” next year’s elite class was still his.

Old Li—what do you have to compete with me?

Li Xiang, who’d been glanced at, didn’t notice—he scratched his head, feeling like he’d forgotten something important.

Minutes later, he suddenly snapped his fingers.

Dammit—I forgot to make that kid return the red envelope!