After poisoning Lu Nian and leaving him to his thoughts, I headed to the kids. The scientist and I had ironed out details before Tang Yue arrived. Per plan, he returns to the Lu clan, sets up a lab; I'll send funding and rare resources money can't buy. In a month, or when free, I'll check on him.
I'd already given him the body enhancement technique; he promised to study it thoroughly and forecast improvements and directions. Enhance the technique itself or make it more accessible – we'll decide after his month of research and theories. For now, he's free.
The students were still hyped from the last battle, laughing and chatting. I didn't spoil their mood, just said after resting, we'd continue practice by clearing the city's hottest spots – killing strongest monsters and biggest clusters.
We couldn't fully clear in three days physically. Sure, the girls and I combined could near-total cleanse, but why steal work from future Hunter teams the government will hire to prep for rebuild? Order's coming since it's near Beijing – good trade point or capital defense outpost. Hunters will get called for sure.
Simple, safe mission for vital experience – perfect for rookies. We veterans won't poach newbies' bread. Plus, lazy to chase every sewer rat. So, under "student training" cover, we'd chill.
Three days later.
No chilling at all. Sigh, who said watching students is easy? These idiots, no longer wasting time on infighting like practice start, bonded and decided to cram max happy memories with new friends in remaining time… Meaning, pile every adventure on their asses.
They did it all: gorged hallucinogenic mushrooms, shot up with spiders maxing dark personality sides, nearly raped by a Pack Leader peak plant monster they aphrodisiac-fertilized, even raided Swamp Lizard nests for eggs! Asked why; they said for campfire scrambled eggs…
Couldn't just stop their circus; I was partly guilty. After my quick, brutal brain-compression, their roofs leaked a bit; venting emotions this way healed them gradually while keeping huge admiration for me, instilled ideals, and strengthening bonds.
For their mental health and my sudden conscience, alongside training, I let them blow off steam. Don't wanna know where Luo Song got that aphrodisiac piercing such a strong monster. Not just them need psyche care.
In three days, we cleared hotspots; I intervened once, against that plant monster. Kids' magic couldn't scratch it – High-tiers usually drop those. Or overpumped Mids.
From my crowd, only Mu Ning Xue could theoretically counter, but it'd need Ice Leek and soul damage. No masochism allowed; I froze the building, vine-wrapped floors, and sensed with spirit it died, then moved on. Standard way, it'd take forever to pry it out.
Otherwise, kids handled it. Even Senior Pack Leader Demonic Spider – team tactics: alternating attacks and defenses. Nailed team combat.
The dark emotion influence from spiderling venom they accidentally shot up… unexpected twist. My brainwash too strong; instead of raping/killing each other per canon (with friend corpses), most raged righteously at monsters and hunted wildly. Thus found mama spider.
The non-ragers: Zhao Manyan sneaking peeks at Bai Tingting's chest/thighs; Mu Ning Xue openly ogling me, licking lips; Mo Fan sadly eyeing Mu Ning Xue but switching to monster-killing.
First two clear – didn't brainwash them. Mo Fan trickier. Mental ideals implanted fine, but couldn't uproot obsession: bag Mu Ning Xue. My violence held for now, but future unknown; played psychologist.
Post-spider battle, pulled him aside, gently probed obsession reasons with constant "why?" Under spirit magic pressure, he spilled; we dug to root: plain inferiority complex and ingrained fetish.
As Mu mansion servant kid, played with Mu Ning Xue childhood; always wondered: "Why not live like her?" Everyone, even dad, said lower birth. Brain logic: rise origin to match. Easiest for broke boy tight with city ruler's daughter? Marry her!
Fetish from years chasing: ideal type – ice mage aristocrat bitch to others. Yeah, those criteria. Dunno how his young brain formed 'em; his fetishes, not mine. No judging.
Fixing harder than deterring Lu Zheng Ge from Mu Ning Xue, but not much. Shifted focus to her lookalike, plus killer pursuit strategy. Yes, Mu Qingyi – Mu clan's Mu Ning Xue sub when she's Black Church-tied via relatives in canon.
Plan simple as snatching candy from commoner baby. All know Mo Fan's Mu Ning Xue fanboy love and arena bet. I told him admit defeat, become Mu clan dog. But! I'll talk to lil sis; her family sells him to main Mu clan for resources.
So he would enter the main Mu family and meet Mu Tingying. There, he would need to play the card of being stunned by her beauty, constantly praise her, and say how much better she is than Mu Ning Xue. Considering his talent in Cultivation and the presence of an excellent innate talent like double awakening, as well as his nominal affiliation with the Mu Clan, she wouldn't reject his courtship outright.
And then, the girl constantly suppressed by Mu Ning Xue, who wants to surpass her in at least something, would herself come to the idea of stealing her little sister's most devoted admirer. If Mo Fan shows good results in Cultivation and expresses loyalty to the Mu family, they might even marry him off to Mu Tingying in the future to bind him even more tightly to the family.
Mo Fan liked the plan, though I had to smooth out his pride a bit with spirit magic. Relying on the ideals and loyalty to me that I had already implanted in his head, I convinced him to become a kind of "spy" in one of the strongest clans in the country and carry our faith in the higher good to the unenlightened there.
In the end, he would get an even more noble wife than Mu Ning Xue, no less beautiful than her, resources for Cultivating his bunch of elements, a reputation as a man who keeps his promises, and the role of "spy," which would benefit all mankind. After realizing such prospects, his resistance quickly crumbled.
As for the Mu Clan possibly taking Mo Fan's talent with their ritual, I wasn't worried. Not because I didn't care about him... though that too. But also because a bunch of people who learned about his talent were now watching him, and his sudden disappearance would raise big suspicions that had already accumulated against that family.
If he continued to show excellent results in Cultivation and competitions, that attention wouldn't decrease but only grow. In short, it was simply not profitable for the Mu family to drain him. Better to raise him and bind him to the family through marriage.
Watching Mo Fan, winged by the future I had painted for him, I stretched and headed toward the guys at a slow pace. Tomorrow the practice should finally end, and they'd be sorted into homes. I mustn't forget to give each of them some gifts and some instructions.