Morning.
"Greetings, homeroom teacher!"
"Good afternoon, Teacher Li!"
At the entrance to Class 7, Grade 12's classroom, Li Gang stood with a dark expression, two school security guards behind him.
This scene instantly froze the previously noisy classroom atmosphere.
All students focused on Li Gang with confusion and fear.
"Where's Lin Mo?" Li Gang's voice cut like a winter wind.
"Reporting, teacher, Lin Mo... he seems to still be sleeping," whispered a student from the back row.
Li Gang's face darkened further as he strode to Lin Mo's seat.
Lin Mo was sprawled across his desk, "sound asleep," even drooling slightly.
The Perfect Grade Marrow Cleansing Pill's power had been so immense that while it transformed his body completely, it had also drained his mental energy. After all that, he'd fallen into a deep, restful sleep.
"Lin Mo!" Li Gang's roar echoed like thunder.
Lin Mo jerked awake, groggily lifting his head and rubbing his sleepy eyes. "Huh? Teacher Li, is school out?"
This clueless expression only fueled Li Gang's rage.
"School out? Look what time it is!" Li Gang pointed at the wall clock. "The whole class is making final preparations for tomorrow's aptitude assessment, and here you are sleeping in class! Is this how you waste the school's resources?"
Surrounding classmates snickered with schadenfreude.
Wang Hao's lips curled in undisguised mockery.
"Teacher, I..." Lin Mo started to explain.
"You what?!" Li Gang cut him off rudely. "The school was robbed last night. Security checked the surveillance and saw you sneaking around the academic building! Confess—did you steal the qi stones from the school warehouse?"
Qi stones?
Lin Mo's heart skipped. Qi stones were valuable cultivation aids containing pure heaven and earth qi. A warehouse theft was serious business.
He had indeed been active in the academic building last night, but only to deal with the "side effects" of taking the Marrow Cleansing Pill.
"Teacher Li, I didn't steal anything," Lin Mo said calmly.
"No? Then what were you doing in the academic building in the middle of the night?" Li Gang pressed aggressively.
"I just... had some cultivation insights, so I stayed in the classroom a bit longer," Lin Mo could only explain.
"Cultivation insights? Hahahaha!" Wang Hao burst into exaggerated laughter. "Lin Mo, you can't even sense qi, you worthless piece of trash, and you're talking about cultivation insights? That's hilarious!"
The classroom erupted in mocking laughter filled with disdain and scorn. To them, Lin Mo's words were just desperate lies.
Li Gang's expression grew even more grim. "Lin Mo, I'll give you one more chance. Come clean—did you steal those qi stones? If you confess now, the school might go easy on you."
Lin Mo's gaze turned cold.
This was obviously an attempt to force a confession.
It seemed Wang Hao would stop at nothing to completely ruin his reputation before the aptitude assessment. This theft was almost certainly another one of his frame-jobs.
"I told you, I didn't steal anything," Lin Mo said firmly.
"Good, very good!" Li Gang laughed coldly. "Looks like you won't tell the truth until we teach you a lesson! Guards, take him to the discipline office. Let Director Zhang interrogate him personally!"
The two security guards immediately stepped forward, ready to grab Lin Mo's arms from both sides.
Just then.
The void rippled, and the translucent system panel appeared again.
Your nemesis Wang Hao harbors wolfish ambitions, framing and plotting to destroy you—such behavior angers both heaven and earth!
Please expose Wang Hao's conspiracy in front of the entire class and prove your innocence and potential with absolute strength, thoroughly humiliating your enemy!
Note: Due to the extreme difficulty of this mission, the host is granted a ten-minute time limit. Mission failure will result in electric shock punishment (basic level).
Mission Reward: Innate Qi Cultivation Art (Incomplete)
Electric shock punishment?
Lin Mo's mouth twitched slightly. This system was getting more "humane" by the minute.
But the Innate Qi Cultivation Art?
That was a legendary supreme technique that pointed directly to the essence of martial cultivation! Even an incomplete version would be invaluable.
In his past life, the ancient texts he'd found mentioned this technique, but only in brief descriptions without actual cultivation methods.
This mission was a must-complete!
"Wait!"
Lin Mo's voice wasn't loud, but it carried undeniable authority.
The security guards about to act paused, instinctively looking to Li Gang.
Li Gang was also surprised that Lin Mo would dare resist at this point.
"Teacher Li, you say I stole qi stones—do you have proof?" Lin Mo's gaze was sharp as a blade, staring directly at Li Gang.
"The surveillance footage is proof!" Li Gang blustered.
"Oh? Did the surveillance catch me entering the warehouse, or leaving with qi stones?" Lin Mo countered.
Li Gang was momentarily speechless. The surveillance only showed Lin Mo moving through corridors—there was no direct evidence of theft.
"Hmph, your suspicious behavior is the biggest evidence!" Wang Hao fanned the flames from the sidelines.
"Suspicious behavior?" Lin Mo laughed coldly, turning to Wang Hao. "Wang Hao, I think you're far more suspicious than me. I remember yesterday afternoon, you went to the warehouse area and chatted with the storage manager for quite a while."
Wang Hao's face changed slightly, then he forced himself to stay calm. "I was just picking up cultivation supplies my father donated to the school and having a friendly chat with the manager. What's wrong with that?"
"Nothing wrong at all," Lin Mo said, then changed direction. "Except I happened to overhear the manager mentioning that the warehouse spare key... seemed to be missing."
At these words, Wang Hao's face instantly paled.
Classmates began whispering among themselves, looking at Wang Hao with growing suspicion.
"You... you're talking nonsense!" Wang Hao stammered in panic.
"Whether I'm talking nonsense will become clear once the school investigates," Lin Mo said calmly but with strong confidence. "As for why I stayed in the academic building last night..."
He paused, scanning the entire class before settling his gaze on Wang Hao with a meaningful smile.
"Because I accidentally... comprehended qi sensation and successfully drew qi into my body, officially stepping into the threshold of martial cultivation."
The words fell like a bomb, plunging the entire classroom into deathly silence