Chapter 197: It

The back mountain plain.

A pungent smell of burning mixed with rolling dust spread through the air.

Fang Lei, Li Xue'er, and others stared blankly at the far end of the plain.

There, two low hills had once stood.

But now,

both low hills were gone!

Principal Guhe had leveled one.

Lin Mo, the Demon King, had leveled the other.

Fang Lei swallowed hard, his throat dry.

"Again… it's been perfectly replicated…"

Li Xue'er also sighed bitterly, "Lin Mo, junior, how do I feel like he's just a photocopier?"

Xu Wenchang turned his head and glanced at Zhang Daoyuan beside him, raising an eyebrow.

The meaning in his gaze was clear.

See?

Didn't I tell you so?

Zhang Daoyuan shook his head with a bitter smile, utterly defeated.

At that moment,

everyone noticed that Guhe suddenly stepped forward, hurrying toward Lin Mo.

Without hesitation, everyone followed.

…

At this moment,

before Lin Mo could even catch his breath,

Guhe had already rushed up to him.

"Principal?"

Lin Mo blinked, staring at Guhe, face flushed and breathing heavily.

"How was it? My lightning spear just now—was it decent?"

"…"

Guhe stared fixedly at Lin Mo.

Not decent?

If that's not decent, what the hell were all my years of research? Dog shit?!

Guhe took a deep breath.

He grabbed Lin Mo's shoulders with both hands.

"Lin Mo!"

"How… how did you do it?"

"Thunder energy is the most violent element in this world!"

"Even my spiritual power can't suppress it to this degree—how did you do it?"

Confusion filled Guhe's eyes.

Logically, his spiritual power was countless times stronger than Lin Mo's.

Yet after years of study, he still couldn't tame the thunder element as gently as Lin Mo had.

"How did you make that violent thunder element so… so obedient?"

"As if it willingly served you, willingly taming its own fury?!"

In this moment,

Guhe was no longer the lofty principal of Jingda.

Nor was he the legendary thunder master who shook the entire Dragon Nation.

He was just a fervent apprentice, humbly seeking wisdom from a master who had grasped the truth.

This bizarre scene

left everyone who had just arrived frozen in place.

Fang Lei and Li Xue'er exchanged glances.

What the hell is going on?!

Everyone stared at each other.

Xu Wenchang and Zhang Daoyuan also wore strange expressions.

Did we see that right?

The mighty principal of Jingda…

was asking a first-year freshman for advice?

Truly…

eye-opening.

…

At this moment,

Lin Mo was also stunned.

He stood frozen, blinking.

How did I do it?

How the hell should I know how I did it?!

I just raised my hand, told Xiao Lei to do his job, and everything else was automatic!

But facing Guhe's burning, truth-seeking gaze,

Lin Mo knew he couldn't pretend ignorance.

He immediately asked inwardly:

"Xiao Lei!"

"The principal's asking you—how did you do it? How did you make lightning so obedient?"

In the skill bar,

【"Lightning Strike" glowed with crackling lightning, standing proudly with arms crossed.】

【"Lightning Strike" sneered: "Suppress? Nonsense. Thunder is the wrath of heaven, the embodiment of destruction. How can mortal power suppress the will of heaven?"】

"Speak human."

Lin Mo's lip twitched.

【"Lightning Strike" shifted slightly: "Feel its rage, resonate with its fury—ultimately… become the wrath of heaven itself!"】

After speaking, "Lightning Strike" fell silent, dimming as if too lazy to say more.

Listening to Xiao Lei's words in his mind,

Lin Mo felt his whole body go numb.

"…"

Was that even human speech?

Whatever.

Let it be.

After all, it's a high-tier skill—mystical is normal.

Lin Mo took a deep breath and met Guhe's fervent gaze.

"Principal."

"Thunder is the wrath of heaven, the embodiment of destruction. Don't try to suppress it—feel it, become… the wrath of heaven itself."

"…"

As soon as he spoke,

everyone was stunned.

Fang Lei and Li Xue'er whispered behind him.

"You… understand that?"

"I didn't understand a word!"

Li Xue'er also shook her head, "Become the wrath of heaven? Should we go find lightning to strike us?"

As they whispered,

Han Xue turned her head and glared coldly at them.

"Shut up."

"Understanding high-tier skills depends entirely on personal insight."

"You don't understand because you're still far too weak—it's normal."

"Stay quiet and don't disturb the principal!"

After being scolded by Han Xue,

Fang Lei and Li Xue'er immediately shrank back, cowering.

But inside, both of them were speechless.

Don't… don't disturb the principal?

It's outright rebellion against heaven!

…

At this moment,

Guhe released his grip on Lin Mo's shoulder.

He seemed to be pondering Lin Mo's words.

"Become the Thunder itself… feel it…"

In his eyes, bright light flickered.

After a moment,

he suddenly let go of his tension.

"I understand…"

"I never realized my previous path was entirely wrong."

"I was too arrogant—I always wanted to suppress the elements, forgetting their true nature…"

Guhe took a deep breath.

Then he looked at Lin Mo, bowed slightly, and said with utmost solemnity:

"Lin Mo, thank you. Without you, I might still be walking down the wrong path."

Faced with Guhe's sudden profound bow,

Lin Mo was startled and quickly reached out to support him.

"No, no, no!"

"Principal, you're humbling me beyond measure."

"I just got lucky—like a blind cat stumbling upon a dead rat. It's your own deep foundation that let you grasp it at once."

Guhe straightened up, gazing at Lin Mo with full admiration.

The more he looked, the more he liked him.

A prodigious talent, yet neither proud nor restless.

He understands reverence and is willing to share truth.

"Good lad."

Guhe stroked his beard and laughed heartily.

Then his expression regained the dignity and poise of a principal.

"Alright, that's enough for today."

"You're not ready to learn the Transcendent Skill yet. As for the High-Grade Skill… Han Laoshi and I have already taught… demonstrated it to you."

"And you used it better than we did."

Hearing Guhe's half-joking words,

Lin Mo smiled.

"Thank you, Han Laoshi and Principal Guhe, for sharing everything with me today."

Han Xue's face, too, revealed a rare gentle smile.

She gently shook her head:

"No thanks needed."

"I should be thanking you."

"Teaching a student like you is an honor for any teacher—it's what I'm meant to do."

Guhe nodded in agreement beside her:

"Han Laoshi is right."

"Lin Mo, don't be modest."

"For Longguo to produce a student like you is a great fortune for our nation—it's a sign of our nation's flourishing destiny!"

Bombarded with such lofty praise from these two giants,

Lin Mo felt embarrassed.

He could only laugh awkwardly while scratching the back of his head.

"Enough."

Guhe patted Lin Mo's shoulder.

"You must have expended a lot this morning—go back, rest well, and have lunch."

Saying this,

Guhe's gaze sharpened slightly, revealing a glint of edge:

"Today we can clear another group dungeon again. Those Japanese fools still hold two dungeon records that belong to Longguo."

"Go reclaim those records!"

At these words, Lin Mo's expression turned serious.

"Understood, Principal!"

"Those records were always ours to begin with."

Then he waved to the group.

"Principal, Han Laoshi, Xu Lao, Zhang Da, I'm off then!"

"Go, go."

Guhe waved dismissively with a smile.

Lin Mo turned and left the back mountain, now turned to glacial ice.