Chapter 65: Caught

In the classroom, Li Mochen idly fiddled with four small stones on his desk, while within his mind, waves surged, hard to calm.

Part of this emotion came from the original owner, part from himself.

He thought it all made sense now. Li Chunchu had passed down such a顶级功法 as the 'Binary Mystic Grand Art' to his son, yet sat by as Li Mochen gradually strayed, turning a once bright path into a dead end—this was too unreasonable.

But with these four stones added, a plausible explanation emerged.

Li Mochen did not know what these things were, but he could feel them resonating and attracting with the two great deities and two constellations within his body.

From the moment he held them, a close connection had been established, each craving the other, causing his mana to surge and his source power to tide.

Li Chunchu had not sat by as his child walked a dead end; rather, he had his own way to lead Li Mochen to a brighter future, forging a rare and solid foundation. This was clearly deep fatherly love, painstakingly planned.

These little things, in fact, brought him indescribable benefits now, further strengthening the constellations and deities within him.

Though the immediate boost to individual strength might be small, they would greatly impact his future mana capacity, cultivation speed, spell power, and more, increasing them by at least eighty percent to double.

An eighty percent increase in spell power, mana, and source power might seem insignificant at this stage. But when he one day again attains Mahayana and ascends to legend, with mana like the sea and source power like an abyss, that 'eighty percent' would be terrifying. This was the role of foundation—the stronger the foundation, the broader the future cultivation prospects.

Unfortunately, the environment was not right now; he would have to wait until nightfall at home to handle and refine these items.

Then Li Mochen took out his pocket watch.

This seemingly ordinary object was actually a magical artifact. Based on the magic patterns on it, Li Mochen deduced it was a defensive type, with at least three trigger-type intermediate protective spells permanently enchanted.

He recognized only two: 'Mind Shield' and 'Intermediate Force Field'.

The former was just what he needed. As the name suggests, it prevents mental attacks.

As for 'Intermediate Force Field', its ancient name was 'Protection from Arrows'. In modern times, mages analyzed its essence and improved it, giving it some ability to block bullets.

The last type he had not yet figured out and would need to consult materials. But since it was a trigger-type spell, it did not affect usage.

Its value was already evident. In this world, all trigger-type magical artifacts were precious, let alone this watch with three effects combined.

Li Mochen could not yet estimate its exact value, but he knew it was at least dozens of times more valuable than his ice-blood stone bracelet.

The latter sealed the 'Deep Cold Princess', but without his method of control and manipulation from the Primordial Vault Realm, it was a source of danger.

Its only value was the near-intermediate Ice Shield and Freezing Ray spells, which were active trigger types requiring the user to activate the runes with mana.

But what Li Mochen was now focusing on was the small photo on the watch.

It was a family portrait: Li Chunchu and his wife, Jennifer in a student uniform, and Li Mochen at age six.

Li Mochen's eyes were deep. He felt the original owner's emotions—grief, nostalgia, and resentment.

Grief over the loss of family, nostalgia for past times, resentment at his parents' unannounced departure.

After a long moment, Li Mochen sighed softly, closed the watch, and hung it around his neck with care.

At 3:30 PM, Li Mochen followed the original owner's habit and went to the cold weapon comprehensive combat club for practice.

The atmosphere in the gym was very different from last week. People looked at him with more complex gazes—besides the usual contempt, disdain, indignation, and exclusion, there was also envy and confusion—mostly due to his bye into the fourth round.

The coaches here tacitly ignored him. Georgia's forced scholarship had clearly angered the coaching team of the cold weapon club.

William was fine; he might not realize it, but many saw his talent as obvious. As for Li Mochen, he seemed to be disliked by most in the school club.

So the one who finally stood before Li Mochen was again Angela Medici. The black-haired girl, apparently influenced by his previous words, had changed into very conservative clothes.

But her figure was too graceful; even so, she remained a stunning sight that drew all men's attention.

The other transfer student who came with Angela, named Lina Aldrich, stood nearby, glaring at him as if she wanted to devour him.

This time, Li Mochen did not embarrass himself. He immediately activated 'Heavenly Mind Illumination' and then looked at the two girls with a disdainful, indifferent gaze.

"Ladies, could you please move away, OK? You're disturbing my practice—"

Lina was so angry she nearly exploded, her hair almost standing on end. Even Angela's bright smile faltered.

But the black-haired girl soon showed him her thick-skinned side.

"Andrew, you really dislike me, don't you? So cold. But you promised last time to learn astrology and yoga from me. You're a man—as you Easterners say, you must stand tall and keep your word."

Thus, Heavenly Mind Li Mochen hesitated. He had indeed promised Angela. Though Heavenly Mind Li Mochen thought it foolish, the girl was right—how could a man break his word?

Wenjian Taoran, bearing Heaven's will and acting on its behalf, even more so could not go back on his word.

So Li Mochen snorted and crossed his arms: "Then what are we learning today? Astrology or yoga? Please hurry up; I don't have much time."

Hearing this, Lina's temples bulged, and her knuckles cracked: "Miss, can I punch him now?"

She could no longer bear it. This guy named Li Mochen—didn't he know that what his mistress was about to teach him were rare esoteric knowledge? He was the one benefiting, yet he put on such a reluctant, arrogant attitude—it was simply unbearable.