Chapter 181: Failed? Not bad, not bad—finally looks human enough

Behind the villa courtyard.

Fang Lei stared at Lin Mo not far away and couldn't help lowering his voice:

"Xue'er, do you think… will Lin Mo's junior succeed this time?"

Li Xue'er swallowed hard:

"I… I don't know…"

"That's Extreme Cold Chain Explosion!"

"The strongest and most difficult skill in beginner ice techniques, without a doubt!"

Another senior girl beside them murmured quietly:

"Yeah, I remember Fang Lei senior spent a whole month freezing on a mountain peak just to learn this move."

"Even Xue'er took twenty days, didn't she?"

Li Xue'er let out a bitter laugh:

"The core of Extreme Cold Chain Explosion requires simultaneously constructing multiple maximally compressed ice-element explosion points in an instant, with split focus."

"How could it be easy?"

Fang Lei took a deep breath, his gaze fixed on Lin Mo's calm face.

"But looking at Lin Mo's junior's expression—calm as an old dog—I feel like he's about to master it outright again?"

At these words,

everyone around fell silent.

…

In the center of the training ground.

Han Xue pulled out ten skill books with a flick of her wrist.

"Here are ten beginner-level skill books for Extreme Cold Chain Explosion."

"Use them first. If anything is unclear or feels sluggish, ask me anytime."

With that,

she handed the skill books to Lin Mo.

Lin Mo reached out and took them, nodding.

"Understood, Master Han."

Then, with a thought,

the ten skill books turned into ten streaks of light and vanished into his brow.

【Prompt: You have consumed 10 beginner-level skill books!】

【Your skill 'Ice Burst' has received massive proficiency nourishment!】

【Your skill 'Ice Burst' has leveled up to Lv. 0!】

Lin Mo's lips curled slightly upward.

This free-ride feeling was actually pretty nice.

Han Xue kept her eyes locked on Lin Mo.

Seeing him finish absorbing, she immediately asked: "How is it? How do you feel? Any confusion?"

Lin Mo didn't answer Han Xue right away.

Inside his mind, he tapped the new recruit just enlisted.

"Little Ice, you're good, right?"

In the skill bar:

【'Ice Spike' lifted its head, proud as a swan: Master, you're underestimating me!】

【'Ice Spike' snorted confidently: This child's play? Leave it to me! I'll make it explode beautifully!】

Hearing Little Ice's confident assurance,

Lin Mo nodded inwardly.

He turned his gaze back to Han Xue, wearing a relaxed smile.

"Master Han, I feel ready."

"No problems?"

Han Xue blinked in surprise.

This was Extreme Cold Chain Explosion!

The most demanding beginner skill in micro-control!

Really, not a single issue?

Han Xue took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her shock.

"Alright."

"Theoretically, this technique should be quite difficult for you at your current stage."

"But if you master it, we can skip other skills and move directly to my self-created intermediate ice technique."

At these words,

Li Xue'er, Fang Lei, and the other six senior students nearby froze.

"Self-created technique!"

Fang Lei murmured: "That's what a genius looks like—starting on Master Han's self-created technique on day one…"

Li Xue'er also let out a bitter laugh:

"Yeah, self-created techniques don't come with skill books—only the teacher's guidance and your own insight…"

Another girl sighed with a grimace:

"Lei-ge, Xue-jie, didn't you two also never learn Master Han's self-created technique?"

Fang Lei and Li Xue'er exchanged glances, then helplessly shook their heads.

…

Hearing the murmurs of astonishment around him,

Lin Mo remained utterly calm.

Self-created technique?

Sounded pretty impressive.

But whatever.

He wasn't the one learning the skill—he just had to look cool.

"Then I'll give it a try."

Lin Mo looked at Han Xue and nodded slightly.

Han Xue stepped back several paces, clearing the space.

"Go ahead."

Lin Mo turned around, facing another direction.

There,

stood seven or eight wooden stakes, slightly smaller in size.

They were arranged in an irregular formation, spaced one or two meters apart.

Perfect targets for testing area-effect skills.

Lin Mo raised his right hand.

Every eye in the courtyard locked onto him at once.

Li Xue'er held her breath.

Fang Lei clenched his fists tightly.

Han Xue didn't dare blink.

Lin Mo silently issued his command inwardly:

"Little Ice, your turn."

【'Ice Spike' let out a shrill cry: Watch me, Master! Behold my dazzling explosion!】

Whir—!

Bone-chilling extreme cold surged outward from Lin Mo in a fan-shaped wave.

Crack-crack-crack-crack—!

In an instant,

thick layers of ice formed simultaneously across the surfaces of the seven or eight wooden stakes.

"Whoa—!"

Li Xue'er gasped.

"So fast! Such incredible ice-element control!"

"Freezing eight targets at once—he didn't even use a second!"

Han Xue's eyes flashed sharply.

The first phase of control was absolutely perfect!

Now came the hardest part: simultaneous multi-point compression and detonation!

Lin Mo's right hand clenched sharply into a fist.

"Boom."

Everyone widened their eyes, waiting for the series of deafening explosions.

But.

Thud!

A muffled sound rang out.

Only the leftmost wooden post exploded.

The other seven posts…

Showed no reaction.

Not only did they show no reaction—the frost on them began melting at a visibly rapid rate.

A cold wind blew through.

The scene fell into awkward silence.

Lin Mo stood frozen in place.

【Your skill "Ice Spike" failed to evolve! Failed to comprehend "Absolute Cold Chain Explosion"!】

"???"

Lin Mo was utterly baffled.

What the hell?

Failed?

Didn't you swear up and down it was no problem?

Didn't you say anyone could do it?

Is that all it's got?

…

Behind him.

"Phew—"

A synchronized exhale rose from Fang Lei, Li Xuer, and the others.

Fang Lei wiped sweat from his forehead.

"Good, good… didn't work."

"Failed! Finally failed!"

Li Xuer patted her chest, letting out a breath of relief.

"Jesus… failing is normal! This is Absolute Cold Chain Explosion!"

"If he could learn Absolute Cold Chain Explosion on his first day touching ice magic, I'm dropping out tomorrow and going home to flip woks!"

The other fourth-year students chimed in, their faces breaking into relieved smiles.

This invincible demon lord.

Finally showed a normal, human trait.

Han Xue stood to the side.

Looking at the lone exploded post, her expression was complex.

To be honest,

in that instant when Lin Mo cast the spell, she had deeply wished he would succeed on the first try.

But now he had failed.

Though a trace of disappointment lingered, it quickly faded.

Han Xue sighed inwardly.

"I must be insane to actually expect him to learn it after one glance…"

"This is better."

"Though his ice element control is already monstrous—freezing eight targets instantly—his fine manipulation still lacks polish."

"This… though still monstrous, is at least bearable."