Drop Me a Pin on WeChat

"N-...not yet," Mo Fan answered.

*Fate, do your worst. If my judgment really is that bad, then choosing Teacher Tang Yue as the person to help me sort this out — I deserve whatever comes.*

"This pendant of yours," Tang Yue finally said, "is also a Stardust Artifact."

"Mm." Mo Fan listened carefully.

"But it's different from any Stardust Artifact we've seen before. It's a growth-type Stardust Artifact."

"A *growth-type* Stardust Artifact???" Mo Fan had never heard of such a concept. Socket-and-gem enhancement systems he could wrap his head around — he'd played enough online games for that — but this was something else entirely.

"Such artifacts are peerless treasures in this world. Beyond performing all the same functions as an ordinary Stardust Artifact, they possess the ability to evolve. They can absorb the soul-energy stored in other Stardust Artifacts to improve themselves — and if they absorb enough, they can grow all the way to Spirit Grade." Tang Yue spoke each word with careful deliberateness.

The moment Mo Fan processed those words, a storm broke loose inside him.

*A Stardust Artifact that can grow?*

Even a plain, ordinary Stardust Artifact was treated like a national treasure by schools and clans alike — rationed in turns even among the most exceptional students. That alone said everything about how precious and scarce they were.

And a Spirit Grade Stardust Artifact? Mu Bai had said it himself: double the effectiveness of a Mortal Grade, and all of Bo City could barely produce a handful. The only known example was the one Mu Ningxue wore.

That had to be the Mu Clan's most closely-guarded family heirloom.

And his scruffy little loach pendant possessed the potential to grow into *that*.

This... this...

Mo Fan had vaguely suspected this thing was impressive. He had not suspected it was *this* impressive.

*Oh no.*

*Oh no.*

A treasure like this — even a person of unblemished character might be driven to kill for it.

He'd heard more than once that mages fighting each other to the death over powerful artifacts was perfectly normal.

And he was nothing but a junior mage. If Tang Yue harbored any wrong intentions... tomorrow's headline would read: *"Tianlan Magic High School Prodigy Found Dead at Rooftop, Unable to Cope with Academic Pressure."*

"Teacher Tang Yue," Mo Fan said, composing his face into an expression of grave sincerity, "something this valuable is beyond what a small mage like me can possibly handle. Why don't I offer it to you — for research purposes..."

He wasn't stupid. Getting ahead of the problem was the smart play.

Even if Tang Yue had the look of a completely upright teacher, human nature was a treacherous thing. Mo Fan wasn't naïve enough to think that just because Tang Yue was beautiful, she couldn't be dangerous.

*Pfft* — Tang Yue dissolved into laughter, her whole manner blooming open, warm and irresistible.

Mo Fan blinked, genuinely unsure what he'd said that was so funny.

"Mo Fan." She was still smiling. "At the annual assessment, when you stood up and tore into Mu Zhuoyun with such righteous fury — I thought you were a man of real principle. I'll admit, just now I was considering confiscating that special treasure of yours. A junior mage really has no business holding something like this. But the last thing I expected was for you to fold so readily and hand it over yourself." She shook her head, still laughing. "Teacher's impression of you has done a complete one-eighty."

Mo Fan gave an awkward chuckle.

*Principles are cheap. Your life is not.*

Confronting Mu Zhuoyun — that, Mo Fan had done with his eyes wide open, knowing every consequence.

In this world, magic or otherwise, you couldn't afford to be naïve. Being streetwise young wasn't a character flaw. It was survival.

"So, Teacher Tang Yue — what are you planning to do with it?" Mo Fan asked.

"Relax. I know you're dying inside at the thought of parting with it." Her smile faded, replaced by something more earnest. "And honestly, you made the right call telling me. Any other teacher, for the sake of their own future rise to power, might genuinely have done something that put you in harm's way."

Mo Fan's eyes brightened. *Looks like I read this right.* Tang Yue really was cut from different cloth than those teachers who wore virtue like a mask in public while doing heaven-knows-what behind closed doors.

"First — that this is a growth-type Stardust Artifact is something you tell *no one*." She paused. "...Though knowing you, I doubt you'll be telling anyone anyway. Second — it's not that I have no interest in a growth artifact. It's that yours is particular. It appears to share an unbreakable soul-bond with you."

*Wait — it's a bound item?*

Mo Fan actually was surprised by that. It explained a lot — every time he'd considered removing the little loach pendant, he'd always felt a faint, inexplicable resistance.

"Finally — for a growth artifact to actually grow, it needs spirit essence from demon-beasts and other Stardust Artifacts as fuel. Right now it's still only Mortal Grade. Even with the potential to grow, whether it *will* grow is another question entirely. The resources it consumes might even exceed the cost of simply acquiring a Spirit Grade artifact outright — in which case, your ancestral heirloom would be barely worth more than scrap."

Mo Fan nodded, turning this over. "Teacher Tang Yue — what exactly is spirit essence?"

"The moment a demon-beast dies, its soul separates from the body. That detached soul is essentially the life-force released at death. Now, if a demon-beast's soul lingers in its body for a short time afterward and emits a special spiritual light, that posthumous soul is dozens of times more refined than an ordinary one — what we call a *refined soul*. Refined souls are the single most critical material in crafting Stardust Artifacts." Tang Yue explained it with the smooth fluency of a born teacher, and Mo Fan nearly reached for a notebook.

"So — if I want this thing to grow, the best approach is to go out and collect refined souls." Energy surged through him. "Right! I need to get stronger fast, go kill plenty of demon-beasts, rack up refined souls!"

"Mm." Tang Yue nodded, and added with perfect composure, "Go right ahead. Just drop me a pin on WeChat before you die — I'll fish your bones and the growth artifact out of whatever swallowed you."

The corner of Mo Fan's mouth twitched. He had absolutely no comeback for that.

"Give me the school's Stardust Artifact — the one you drained. I'll handle it." Tang Yue put aside the humor and spoke plainly. "This is a personal favor from me. You owe me one."

"Thank you so much, Teacher Tang Yue. Whatever you need in the future, just say the word!" Mo Fan said.

Calling Tang Yue really had been the right call. She had solved the one problem gnawing at him worse than anything else.

No expulsion. And better still — the Loach Pendant had been confirmed as a Stardust Artifact that was *his*, permanently.

What a rush.

Mu Bai, Xu Zhaoting, all the rest of them — a month each with the school artifact at most. Even Mu Yuang, the man Mo Fan was slated to duel, barely got half a year. Mo Fan? Year-round. Every single day, without interruption.

The gap in cultivation that would open up between them wouldn't be measured in streets. It'd be measured in continents.

He was barely resisting the urge to lean down and kiss his little loach pendant.