Mo Bai finally made his way toward the training grounds after selecting his elemental skill. The Lightning Claw technique booklet was now tucked securely under his arm. As he arrived, he saw Mo Fan sitting cross-legged, deeply focused on reading and understanding his own skill.
"Oh, Mo Bai! You're done already? So, what did you pick, huh?" Mo Fan looked up with a casual smile and curious tone as Mo Bai approached and sat down beside him on the tiled ground.
"My pick? I chose the Lightning Claw technique. It suits me best," Mo Bai replied calmly, showing the title clearly written on the booklet's cover.
"What? Really? Isn't that a technique that only requires beginner-level elemental control? Why didn't you choose something stronger? You had a bunch of options," Mo Fan asked, clearly surprised.
"Yes, it only requires beginner-level control, but that doesn't mean it's weak. It's the best fit for me. You'll understand in time."
Mo Fan shrugged. "Well, I guess you know what works for you."
Still, before returning to his reading, a flicker of doubt crossed Mo Fan's mind.
'I don't get it… With his control level, he could've picked something way stronger. Even if he likes close combat, there were plenty of other techniques better suited for that. Weird choice… Whatever, I'll just focus on getting stronger myself. Once I master this, Yi Kang is going down. Haha.'
Mo Fan quickly pushed away his curiosity and refocused entirely on his booklet.
The rest of the day passed in focused silence. All students—including Mo Bai and Mo Fan—worked hard to absorb every step of their new skills, trying to memorize and even practice them. But by the end of the academy day, no one had managed to properly activate their techniques.
Still, when they returned home, most students continued practicing out of sheer excitement. And by the end of that night, Mo Bai was the only one who had successfully activated his skill, albeit barely.
A faint smile of satisfaction curved his lips as he whispered to himself, just an hour before bedtime:
"Finally… I managed to form at least one claw on my right hand. The first step is always the hardest. I'll probably be able to form all five claws on this hand by tomorrow."
He raised his hand close to his face. A single dark blue lightning claw shimmered over one finger, pulsing with electric energy, sparking every few seconds.
'Pretty amazing, really. I doubt anyone else managed even a rough form of their technique on the first day. But this isn't because I'm some unrivaled genius at control or understanding. I shouldn't let this small success cloud my judgment. The real reason is that my technique has a very low learning threshold, and I'm the only one at intermediate control who picked a technique that simple.'
He calmly analyzed the situation, determined not to let his small success inflate his ego.
'Honestly, who told everyone to pick the strongest technique their control level allows? That only makes it harder to master and delays progress. Higher difficulty doesn't always mean better. Like the teacher said: pick what suits you. Too bad most didn't understand that.'
Fatigue settling into his body and face, Mo Bai collapsed into bed. It wasn't just the physical exhaustion of depleted energy and stamina, but also the mental strain of nonstop training. Only brief breaks for meals and necessities had punctuated the day.
'Today was productive… but exhausting too. I'm seriously sleepy now.'
He rolled over and pulled the covers over himself, drifting off into the peaceful silence of night, a stillness broken only by the coming dawn of a new day.
...
The next morning, Mo Bai came downstairs to share breakfast with his father. They sat quietly at the table, eating from several dishes with chopsticks, until Mo Shen spoke with his usual cold tone.
"You've been off your training duties for two weeks since joining the academy, Mo Bai, It's time to resume them. Especially now that you've started learning techniques, this will help you master your techniques. We'll advance to the next step of training."
"Okay, I'm ready for this, I was thinking about this too and intend to start this training after I've mastered my skill further and passed the test, but that's also convenient, it's fine." Mo Bai replied calmly, not surprised, as he continued to eat his food slowly.
"It's good that you're ready, you've passed the stage of fighting monsters, that won't do you much good now, so you should start fighting in the battle arena. The rewards there are also good, but what's more important is the experience you'll accumulate there, Make sure you don't die."
Mo Shen spoke as if it were a normal thing for Mo Bai to begin training in which he could die.
Mo Bai raised his head slightly, a familiar, faint smile appearing on his lips, showing absolute confidence, before he replied.
"Don't worry, Dad, I won't die from something like this."
"Good, that's the spirit. If you leave the academy today, head straight there Mo Bai, I'll be there to watch you."
With that, Mo Shen finished his meal and stood up, heading towards his training room.
"Okay." Mo Bai replied calmly, as his father had already left. He then finished eating and set off for the academy.
...
Inside the training room, Mo Shen sat cross-legged, a faint smile on his lips as he whispered to himself.
"Life and death battles are what refine a man and his skills, Mo Bai has finally reached this stage. Now all that remains is for Mo Bai to become stronger as possible until the right moment arrives, I look forward to watching your growth, my son."