Chapter 13 - Ch13: Crushing
"How dare you mock me, you bastard?!"
Bai Shuo charged forward, throwing a wild punch at Mo Bai's face, his mouth stretched wide in a furious roar, eyes blazing with rage.
"Heh, idiot. That's exactly what I was waiting for."
Mo Bai's lips moved with eerie calm as he took a simple step to the right, easily avoiding the punch. In the same motion, he seized Bai Shuo's arm with both hands, twisted his body, lifted him clean off the ground, and—
"BANG!"
A deafening crash echoed across the training ground as Bai Shuo's back slammed violently against the floor.
"ARGHH!"
Bai Shuo let out a scream of pain, spitting from the force of the impact. A metallic taste filled his mouth, and before he could even blink, his vision was completely overtaken—
—by the sole of Mo Bai's foot.
"BANG!"
Another brutal sound split the air as Mo Bai stomped down on Bai Shuo's face, pinning his head to the ground. Gasps erupted across the field.
The second-best talent of the Bai Faction's generation now lay crushed underfoot, blood gushing from his face like a fountain, no different from a bug that had just been stepped on.
"...Huh? Did I just step on something?"
Mo Bai tilted his head in mock confusion, lifting both hands as if unsure what had happened—yet at the same time, he pressed down even harder with his foot.
"Mo Fan, check if I accidentally crushed something, will you?" he added, his expression deadpan.
"Huh? Let me see..."
Mo Fan leaned down, hand thoughtfully under his chin, pretending to inspect the scene seriously.
"Hmm... nope. Nothing. Just a bug under your foot. Hahaha."
"Pfffft."
Laughter burst from every corner of the arena, quickly muffled as students tried to hold it in. No one wanted to become the target of Bai Shuo's inevitable wrath.
A few guards instinctively moved forward—but the instructor raised his hand subtly, halting them with a firm shake of the head.
'As long as it's only physical combat... The Headmaster ordered not to interfere unless it spirals out of control. Let's see where this goes.'
"Mo Bai. Remove your foot from Bai Shuo," came a voice—ice-cold and commanding. Calm, even-paced footsteps followed.
It was Bai Ken.
"Oh, young master. Of course—since it's your request, I'll stop."
Mo Bai lifted his foot at once and gave a slight cupping of his fists with a faint smile, but didn't bow—not even a little.
"Good. But remember this well: what I say isn't a request. It's an order."
Bai Ken's frosty voice rang out with clarity, heard by Mo Bai, Mo Fan, and every nearby student.
Bai Shuo clambered to his feet, holding his nose, now burning and dripping blood. The stinging sensation crawled across his skin, but even that pain couldn't extinguish the hatred in his eyes as he glared at Mo Bai. He turned stiffly and walked toward Bai Ken.
"Of course, young master. Your word is law," Mo Bai responded with the same calm smile, watching as Bai Kin walked off without so much as a backward glance.
"Mo Bai, that was gold! Hahaha. 'Huh? Did I step on something?' Pfffft, I nearly choked trying not to laugh,"
Mo Fan mimicked him with dramatic flair, slapping his shoulder repeatedly as he burst into laughter.
"That was nothing," Mo Bai said, a faint sneer tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"He brought that humiliation on himself. Challenging me to close combat? He couldn't beat me before, and definitely not now—not after I got the rune."
"Oh yeah, I got one too, remember? A day after you," Mo Fan replied, his voice brimming with excitement.
"Same thing—physical strength rune and a first-tier comprehension boost. Super helpful."
"I was hoping for a second-tier one though... but Grandpa said I need to hit the peak of Tier 1 Sealing Master first before he'd pay for that. Still a long road, but now that I know I'll get it eventually, I'm fired up! I'll get there fast, just wait."
"Good luck with that," Mo Bai said flatly, eyes glinting with a quiet edge as he turned to glance at Yi Kang approaching the test area.
'Grow stronger, Mo Fan. I want you to become much stronger. The stronger you are... the more useful you'll be for the plan.'
Another 45 minutes passed as Yi Kang, Mo Fan, and Bai Ken completed their tests in turn. The rankings remained unchanged: scores of 40, 41, and finally 48.
Bai Ken stood alone at the top, nearly perfect in control.
Each of the top ten was rewarded: 30 Nia stones for ranks 4 through 10, 40 for third place, 50 for second, and 60 for first.
Mo Bai didn't care about any of that.
Instead, he quickly joined Mo Fan and the others for another round of "bullying practice," now far easier thanks to the strength runes they'd all recently received.
Everything went as expected. Smooth. Controlled.
But Mo Bai's focus was already elsewhere.
Later that evening, just as he returned home and before even stepping through the door, someone was waiting for him outside.
A tall, broad-shouldered man stood in front of the gate. A black badge glinted on his chest, embroidered in blood-red thread with a single word:
"Slave."
The man bowed deeply and cupped his fists in reverence.
"Young Master Mo Bai, please come with me. The Clan Leader wishes to see you."
'Finally, the old man makes a move. Time to fix his mistake... and more importantly, take full advantage of it. Let's see just how good my acting really is.'
A faint, charming smile spread across Mo Bai's face.
'Let the performance begin.'