Spirit Grade Stardust Artifact

Military Mages arrived at the old Rongshu Street district not long after.

Among them, a Healing Element mage moved quickly to close the wound torn open across Captain Xu Dahuang's torso. Fortunately, Xu Dahuang was a Mage — his body had been partially tempered by Stardust — because any ordinary person would have been dead the moment those claws landed.

Staring at the long, ugly gash that ran from Xu Dahuang's chest down to his abdomen, Mo Fan developed a new and visceral appreciation for defensive skills. He was also quietly grateful for the Sickle-Bone Shield. Without it, the outcome would have been the same for him.

"Mr. Yang, I think we should raise a city-wide alert," Guo Caitang said, addressing Intermediate-Level Mage Yang Zuohe. "The rate at which Demon-Beasts are appearing inside the city has become frankly abnormal."

"The Magic Association is already in discussions with the Hunters' Alliance, and the city government is considering it as well," Yang Zuohe replied. "The difficulty is that we raised an alert not long ago. Triggering another one so soon could easily cause widespread panic."

"A One-Eyed Demon Wolf — a creature that has no business being inside city limits — showed up tonight." Guo Caitang's voice was heavy. "I can't shake the feeling that something worse is coming."

"Rest assured, we're actively investigating, and we're continuously increasing security personnel across the city. For the stranger incidents that fall outside our reach, we'll have to rely on your squad to keep covering the ground."

"We'll do everything we can. But with our captain seriously injured, our operational capacity is—"

"I'll arrange for a Fire Element mage to serve as temporary acting captain until Xu Dahuang recovers." Yang Zuohe paused, then smiled and let his gaze drift toward Mo Fan. "On another note — when did your squad take on a new member? And a Lightning mage, at that."

"Recruitment," Guo Caitang said simply.

"Recruitment??" Yang Zuohe blinked, then shook his head with a rueful smile. "First I've heard of a Lightning mage needing to go through a job fair."

A quiet ripple of laughter moved through the group, and eyes drifted, almost involuntarily, toward Mo Fan.

His performance had genuinely shocked all of them. At the moment when an ascending One-Eyed Demon Wolf seemed certain to wipe the entire squad, his Tier-2 Lightning Seal had been the deciding factor. The squad counted themselves extraordinarily lucky to have found a Lightning mage willing to pound the streets with them — because anyone who had mastered a Tier-2 Lightning Seal would normally be kept close by a major noble clan, or could walk into the Magic Association, the Hunters' Alliance, or a government office and take their pick of any position they wanted.

Yu'ang stood to one side, watching every pair of eyes in the group fix on that young Lightning mage. The corner of his mouth tightened.

Even with the prestige of an Ice Element noble family behind him — even standing as the outstanding talent of his generation — the Lightning Element's aura still managed to eclipse him completely.

"Caitang," Feishi said, wearing a thoroughly mischievous grin, "if you want to keep Fan Mo from jumping ship to another squad, why not just throw yourself at him? Nothing ties a man down like that — and he did save your life, after all. You've been at a loss for how to repay the debt."

"Get lost!" The flush that stormed across Guo Caitang's proud face was vivid, but her voice came out all venom and steel.

Nearby, Yu'ang's expression darkened by another shade.

The One-Eyed Demon Wolf incident finally came to a close.

Mo Fan changed out of his disguise and made his way back to the school dormitories. He was just about to climb the wall when he spotted a slight, small figure hovering near the gate.

"Zhou Min?" He was mildly surprised. Why was she still out here instead of home and asleep?

"Mo Fan — thank goodness..." Zhou Min looked up and saw him standing there, completely unharmed. Her eyes went wet in an instant.

She was still at that tender age when emotions run close to the surface. Back during the Field Expedition, Mo Fan had thrown himself in harm's way to shield the whole group, and she'd been quietly, deeply moved — but her stubborn girlish pride had kept her from knowing how to say so. Now, because of her grandmother, he had nearly lost his life again, and once more he'd been the one to pull both her and her grandmother to safety. She didn't know how to begin repaying a debt like that.

Mo Fan stood there, profoundly awkward as she started to cry.

"Anyway — thank you for saving my grandmother," she managed between sniffles. "My parents are always so busy. She raised me from when I was small..."

He spent a good while talking her down before she finally let him walk her back to the girls' dormitory.

In the dead of night, a boy walking a tearful girl back to the dorms — it was exactly the kind of scene that sent the bored and restless student body into a fever of speculation.

The moment Mo Fan stepped back into his room, his dormmates descended with their questions, buzzing with innuendo about whether things had gone well. He found it insufferable. *I was out there saving the world, for God's sake.*

Once everyone was asleep, Mo Fan slipped out alone to the water reservoir on the roof of the teaching building.

It was his private training ground — rarely disturbed.

"Little Loach Pendant, you swallowed a whole Spirit Essence and now there's not a peep out of you. What, are you sleeping it off??" he muttered, sitting on the reservoir's edge.

The words had barely left his mouth when the Loach Pendant stirred, rousing like a drowsy infant. It trembled gently, and light bloomed from within it — light that spread no further than a finger's width in any direction.

The light was thick and viscous, like threads of silk winding around the dark little pendant, wrapping it in a cocoon.

*A metamorphosis.*

The image surfaced in Mo Fan's mind unbidden as he watched, transfixed.

And the pendant was indeed transforming. The weathered, age-worn surface showed unmistakable change — rust and pitting faded away, replaced by a faint luster that held something of polished jade about it.

"Old Man Ying really did leave me something extraordinary," Mo Fan murmured.

He could feel it clearly now. Once the transformation was complete, a steady, deeply comfortable energy began radiating outward from the pendant against his chest.

A Mortal Grade Stardust Artifact nourished you like a soak in a hot spring — warmth and softness spreading through your whole body, easing muscles and calming the mind. Fast, unmistakable, pleasant.

But what the transformed Loach Pendant offered was different. What Mo Fan felt now was more like being enveloped — wrapped in something intangible and fine. The only comparison that came to him was silk. Soft, weightless silk.

It placed no constraint on his body or his movement. It simply pressed close against his skin, and in the wake of a brutal battle it swept away the last of his exhaustion in one long, clean pass. Like an infant settled into a warm, soft crib. Serene. At peace.

Mo Fan's heart leapt with sudden joy.

He had never handled a Spirit Grade Stardust Artifact before, but the quality of nourishment flowing through him now was unmistakably beyond anything Mortal Grade could offer — unmistakably Spirit Grade. And beyond that: beyond simply burning away his fatigue, he felt something deeper. His very Stardust was being nourished. The sensation was uncannily close to active Meditation.

*Increasing my cultivation... without Meditation??*

Mo Fan sat up straighter, suddenly and completely awake.