As they were still laughing, Old Li glared at them and scolded:
"What are you lot laughing about?"
"At least Ye Chen is a prodigy. What are you?"
"If you don't buckle down and study hard, you won't even get into a regular university. Do you want to end up laying bricks at construction sites or mining spirit stones in the mountains?"
Old Li's harsh reprimand left Zhang Dahai and the other boys' faces alternating between red and pale.
They were all young, at an age when saving face was paramount. Being scolded by the teacher was one thing, but being compared unfavorably to Ye Chen was too much. Their expressions soured.
Only Lin Mo's smile faded, but his expression remained neutral. He stayed silent.
After his outburst, Old Li turned to Ye Chen and said:
"Let's leave it at that for today. You can go back now. I'll talk to Zhu Hongyuan's parents later about this."
Ye Chen frowned, wanting to say more, but Old Li cut him off with a curt "Go back to class." He had no choice but to comply.
As he was about to exit the office, Ye Chen looked at Lin Mo and the others and sneered:
"How can sparrows understand the ambitions of a great swan!"
What a chuunibyou, reading too many fantasy novels... Lin Mo thought as he turned away, not bothering to respond to such childishness.
After Ye Chen left, Old Li turned to the remaining students:
"Look at you lot, neither here nor there in class. Some of you can't even get into a regular university. Don't shrink away, I'm talking about you, Zhang Dahai!"
Zhang Dahai hung his head, his face ashen.
But Old Li was just getting started:
"At least Lin Mo's written test scores are decent. He can get into a good regular university."
"But you? Your mock exam scores wouldn't even get you into a vocational college. What have you been doing with your time?"
"And the rest of you, don't laugh! Have any of you been practicing as hard as Ye Chen?"
"When Ye Chen transferred here three years ago, he was dead last in the class. And now? He's top of the class!"
"You should all learn from Ye Chen's dedication to cultivation. As it is, you can't even muster a Qi Condensation 3rd level between you."
Zhang Dahai mumbled under his breath, trying to interrupt: "I'd like to learn, but no one gave me the 'Favored by Fate' title."
"Zhang Dahai, you have the nerve to talk back!" Old Li's eyes widened as he pointed at him:
"A title alone is useless. He worked hard to achieve his current level."
"True masters never complain about their circumstances!"
Of course, the strong don't complain about their environment, because they're the ones who made it worse... Lin Mo thought wryly.
But he knew better than to voice such thoughts, lest he end up copying cultivation methods ten more times.
Lin Mo kept his head down, writing furiously while letting the words go in one ear and out the other.
Fortunately, Zhang Dahai bore the brunt of the scolding, with the others as secondary targets. Lin Mo received the least criticism of all.
By the time Lin Mo finished copying, Old Li had also talked himself hoarse and stopped.
"If I catch any of you again, you can forget about coming to school. You'll stay home for the rest of the term!"
Old Li's face was dark as he shooed them out of the office.
As they left the building, Zhang Dahai was still indignant:
"What's so great about Ye Chen? He just got lucky with that 'Favored by Fate' title. Three years ago, he wasn't even as good as me!"
"And Old Li too - how can he say we're not working hard? We meditate for over 10 hours a day!"
A classmate tried to console him: "Calm down, bro. Ye Chen's favored by fate. He's going to the Dao Academy in the future. We're just ordinary people. We can't mess with him!"
"Yeah, there's nothing we can do. To be honest, when Ye Chen glared at me earlier, I felt a bit scared."
"Tell me about it! I heard he beat that rich kid Zhu Hongyuan from Class 7 to a pulp. I almost wanted to slap myself for not being able to hold back my laughter."
"But seriously, it was funny, especially when he said that line about 'thirty years east of the river.' I couldn't help it."
"Haha, me neither..."
After a few exchanges of banter, the tense atmosphere from the office began to dissipate.
Just as smiles returned to their faces, the bell for the end of evening self-study rang.
"Alright, let's scram!"
"Woo-hoo! Another day wasted!"
"Haha, copying isn't so bad. I think I might have grasped a bit of the essence of the technique. Maybe tomorrow I'll make a breakthrough and surpass Ye Chen!"
"Awesome! May we all prosper..."
"Cheers to that! We're in this together..."
They waved goodbye to each other, some heading to the dorms, others home.
Lin Mo patted Zhang Dahai's shoulder: "See you tomorrow, son!"
Zhang Dahai laughed and cursed back, his expression returning to its usual carefree state. He waved and left with the other dormitory students.
However, Lin Mo, who knew him well, could see that his and the other students' steps were heavier than usual, belying their light-hearted words.
Lin Mo shook his head as he watched them leave.
Zhang Dahai probably understood the real reason behind Old Li's timely reprimand.
In Old Li's eyes, neither he nor Zhang Dahai and the others were likely to have a future in cultivation.
Offending a prodigy like Ye Chen, who was destined for the path of immortality, was certainly not a good idea for them.
Although the Nine States of the Earthly Realm were now unified, with improved laws and systems, it was no longer like hundreds of years ago when cultivators viewed mortals as insects to be slaughtered at will.
But cultivators were still superhuman beings that ordinary people couldn't afford to offend.
For now, they were all still students, and Old Li could still manage the situation.
But ten or twenty years from now, even Old Li might have to bow respectfully to Ye Chen and address him as "Immortal Master."
If at that time Ye Chen were to say, "Punishing you would soothe my Dao heart," who could stop him?
The thought made Lin Mo's heart heavy.
These scenarios might never come to pass, but who could guarantee they wouldn't?
After all, whether these imaginings became reality depended entirely on Ye Chen's whim.
It was only now, from Old Li's behavior, that Lin Mo realized the so-called world of immortal cultivation was far crueler than he had imagined.
He slapped his cheeks to wake himself up a bit.
That's it!
No sleep tonight. I'll stay up all night grinding, ascend tomorrow. It all starts with giving up sleep!
Lin Mo clenched his left fist, his resolve firm.
An hour later...
"Damn, I almost fell asleep again!"
Lin Mo slapped his cheeks hard as he woke up on the meditation mat on the floor, trying to use pain to drive away sleepiness. He tried to brainwash himself:
"You're not even 18 yet! How can you sleep at such a young age!"