Chapter Twenty: The Stardust Artifact
"Indeed, today is a very important day for Tianlan High School. As it happens, Mu Ningxue has returned early from Imperial Capital Magic Academy for the summer break. I discussed it with the clan head and invited her — Bo City's standard-bearer — to give a speech at Tianlan Magic High School. She'll observe our annual assessment as well, and evaluate the caliber of this year's students." Mu He said.
Mu He took one look at the gleam in his nephew's eyes and knew exactly what the boy was thinking. He gave Mu Bai a genial pat on the shoulder. "Relax. When your assessment comes, I'll personally bring her over to watch. The clan head will be there too. If he sees how hard you've been working, he might just allocate a few more resources to your household — you know how many disciples our clan has? Standout talents are as plentiful as hairs on an ox. But if the clan head takes notice of you, even two or three extra months with the Stardust Artifact would be an immeasurable benefit to you."
"Star... Stardust Artifact? Is that real? I actually have a chance to be allocated a Stardust Artifact??" Mu Bai's eyes lit up with an almost feverish gleam.
"Of course. You think the difference between us and common Mages comes down to superior bloodlines? Family upbringing? Those things are all well and good, but nothing compares to the Stardust Artifact. If you become a core clan disciple, you'll gain access to both the Stardust Artifact and the library artifact allocations. Your cultivation level will leave every student in this school in the dust."
"Uncle, I — I'll absolutely give it everything I have!"
*Leave every student in the school in the dust!!*
Something ignited inside Mu Bai, blazing from head to toe. No wonder the other clan disciples trained like madmen — they were all competing for access to the Stardust Artifact.
Every Mage's cultivation time was finite. For students at their level, five hours of Meditation per day was essentially the limit. The remaining hours could only be spent on theory and academic study.
But the Stardust Artifact was the single most coveted cultivation tool a Mage could possess.
Mu Bai didn't fully understand the principles behind it. What he knew was this: after the exhaustion of Meditation, the Stardust Artifact rapidly restored a practitioner's mental energy, drastically cutting down recovery time.
Under normal circumstances, after five hours of Meditation, the following nineteen hours were effectively lost — a fatigue period that could only be endured by switching to other activities or simply sleeping through it.
For students hungry to advance, those nineteen dead hours were agony. And there was nothing to be done. After prolonged, intense concentration, the mind required an equally long stretch of rest to avoid breaking down entirely.
The Stardust Artifact changed all of that.
Shorten the fatigue period, and you effectively extended your daily cultivation hours.
A day or two might not amount to much. But over a month or two, the gap between users and non-users would become visible. Over two or three months — or if held indefinitely — that gap would widen into a gulf that left peers far behind.
Cultivation efficiency varied from person to person, so that variable aside, even someone with naturally slow progress could surge ahead of the pack with a Stardust Artifact in hand. For those who already had strong talent and worked hard? The gains were nothing short of extraordinary.
"Uncle, you mentioned before that students in the elite class have a chance of being allocated a Stardust Artifact. Is that true?" Mu Bai asked, unable to keep the excitement from his voice.
"It is. Schools do hold some cultivation resources. The problem is, resources at the school level are extremely limited — with that many students, giving everyone even a single day's use is as good as useless. That's why there's an annual assessment, and why there's an elite class. Only elite-class students qualify for a Stardust Artifact allocation. Given your results, making it into the elite class is a certainty. I'll make a few quiet arrangements so you hold onto the school's Stardust Artifact a little longer than the others — no great windfall, but not nothing either. The school is a public institution; my hands are somewhat tied. The real leap forward comes from the Mu Clan's own Stardust Artifacts — something no commoner Mage will ever touch in their entire lifetime. That is why you must treasure every opportunity." Mu He's tone was earnest and deliberate.
"Don't worry, Uncle. I won't disappoint you."
"Don't tell me — show Mu Ningxue and the clan head." Mu He gave Mu Bai's shoulder another pat.
Mu Bai nodded firmly, and a cold sneer took shape in the back of his mind. *Xu Zhaoting — so what if your cultivation is equal to mine right now? So what if you have the Lightning Element? Behind me stands the Mu Clan. You could never compete with me. Not in this lifetime.*
"By the way, whatever happened to that kid named Mo Fan?" Mu He asked offhandedly, as though just remembering something — the way one might idly wonder about a beggar on the roadside they'd once grudgingly tossed a coin to.
"A waste. He'll definitely be expelled." At this point, Mu Bai saw no reason to disguise his contempt.
He despised Mo Fan.
They'd all grown up in the same neighborhood as children, yet wherever Mo Fan went, people flocked around him — the boy carried himself like some self-appointed king of the streets. What Mu Bai could never understand, and could never forgive, was that even the immeasurably distinguished Mu Ningxue had once mixed with that crowd, and had been remarkably close to him.
*What is he, exactly?* Running wild through the streets and the mountain districts every day like a feral monkey, reeking of gutter bravado, every inch of his lowborn nature on full display. What did he know about real power? About standing and status? What did he understand about spending a whole life as a poor, pathetic joke that everyone looked down on?
A servant's son was base and ignorant — no foresight, no ambition — perfectly content rolling around in his slums and filth, happy as a pig in mud.
"Understood. I'll sign his withdrawal. And it gives Mo Jiaxing an answer too." Mu He drew a slow, unhurried drag from his cigarette. "It's not as though I didn't try. His son is simply a dullard. I gave him the opportunity to awaken, and even that wasn't enough to make a Mage out of him. Honestly, some people just don't know when to quit wasting their money. When you're inherently useless, what makes you think your son will be the one who finally breaks the mold? Poverty and incompetence pass from generation to generation."
Mu He sat with his eyes half-lidded, smoke curling lazily from his fingertips — the picture of a distinguished, unhurried old fox, exuding nothing but serene disdain for whatever wretched creature had scurried across his path.