...
{3rd Pov}
Astreo looked at the entire class that had been brought over by Tang Yue and let out a quiet sigh.
Although Bo City had clearly become more developed compared to before, and even had an established branch of the Star Clan along with Star Industries operating within it, the situation was still far from ideal.
The strongest magicians stationed in the city were only at the High Tier level, which was nowhere near enough to deal with what was about to come.
This fact alone confirmed that the Black Vatican, along with Salang, had not backed off from their experiments.
The Holy Spring Water of Bo City was still a crucial ingredient in their larger plan.
In fact, the increased development of the city only made Bo City an even better target.
A more developed city meant better data for their experiments, more chaos to observe, and ultimately far greater destruction.
From Salang's perspective, this would also bring greater notoriety.
The larger the scale of the disaster, the more fear and attention it would generate.
In the end, the city's development only helped validate her methods and ensured that the aftermath would be far more impactful.
Astreo had no intention of stopping the attack before it happened.
Instead, he planned to step in at the critical moment and save the city when everything reached its breaking point.
By doing so, he could earn the goodwill and trust of everyone involved without exposing his true intentions too early.
At the very least, he considered himself far better than those people who deliberately created disasters themselves, only to later appear as saviors offering a solution to the very problems they had caused.
The clearest proof of this was Tang Yue's presence in Bo City.
She had been sent there specifically to investigate the Black Vatican, which alone showed that the threat was still being taken seriously, at least on paper.
However, the way the investigation was handled made the entire situation look absurd.
It wasn't really Astreo's fault that the only investigator the authorities had dispatched was merely an Intermediate Mage.
What annoyed him more was the fact that she had wasted nearly three full years staying in the city and still failed to uncover even the slightest clue related to the Black Vatican.
This was despite the city having literal underground holes through which One-Eyed Rats repeatedly emerged, something that should have immediately raised massive red flags for anyone even remotely competent.
'Well, politicians will be politicians, no matter where they are,' Astreo thought as he rolled his eyes internally.
He was well aware that this negligence was most likely the result of corrupt officials choosing to ignore the issue entirely.
After all, one must not forget that Mu He, who was secretly a Red Deacon of the Black Vatican, was also involved behind the scenes, further ensuring that the investigation went absolutely nowhere.
The Mu family, although no longer the most influential family in Bo City, was still far from weak.
They remained the second strongest force in the city, right after the Star Clan and Star Industries.
Since the Mu main family had chosen to continue providing resources to this side branch specifically to keep a close watch on the Star Clan, it meant that their overall strength here was actually greater than what it had been in the original timeline.
In that sense, they were already stronger than they had ever been in canon.
As Astreo was thinking about this, his attention briefly shifted to the reaction of the students around him.
Nearly all the boys were doing their best to stand still and act normal, desperately trying to hide their obvious boner.
Their eyes kept drifting uncontrollably toward Tang Yue, their thoughts clearly running wild as they stared at her curvaceous and mature figure without any shame.
Astreo couldn't help but admit it to himself—Tang Yue was undeniably hot.
Her appearance alone was enough to disrupt the focus of an entire class full of teenagers who lacked even the slightest bit of self-control.
It was no wonder everyone was staring at her as if they were dehydrated and she was the only source of relief, oasis in sight.
The contrast between her presence and their immaturity made the situation painfully obvious, and honestly, a little embarrassing to watch.
[Image]
Tang Yue gave off a strong mature woman vibe, supported by her extremely well-developed and curvy figure.
It was essentially just a polite way of saying that she fit the image of a "milf," even though she was not actually a mother.
Her presence naturally drew attention the moment she stepped forward, and it was impossible not to notice her.
She had short, chestnut-colored hair that framed her face neatly, paired with warm brown eyes that carried a calm but confident look.
A small beauty mark rested under her left eye, adding to her overall charm.
Her eyelashes were long and clearly enhanced with makeup, and her red lips stood out vividly, making her expressions even more striking whenever she spoke.
"Students, today I will be demonstrating how to cast Novice Tier One spells," Tang Yue announced as she began her explanation.
Since she was a new teacher at Tianlan High School and specifically a practical spells instructor, it was her responsibility to teach students how to properly apply magic rather than just memorize theory.
For this reason, she had currently gathered students from every class together.
The purpose was to conduct a large-scale practical demonstration, ensuring that everyone could clearly observe the casting process and understand how beginner-level spells were supposed to be executed in real combat or training situations.
"You all need to form a star path according to the fixed star model and then unleash your magic," Tang Yue explained clearly.
"I will demonstrate the process on this training dummy first so you can see how it's done."
As she spoke, she raised her hand slightly, preparing to cast the spell.
However, despite her explanation, most of the students were clearly not paying attention to her instructions.
Instead, their gazes were focused well below her face, and their expressions made it painfully obvious where their thoughts were drifting.
Astreo rolled his eyes internally at their behavior, finding them more annoying than amusing.
From his perspective, they were just a bunch of hormone-driven creeps who couldn't even focus during a basic spell demonstration.
(A/N: It is not their mistake that while you are drowning, they are dying of thirst)
Tang Yue ignored the distraction entirely and proceeded with her demonstration.
She activated a Novice Tier One Fire spell, Scorch.
A small spark of flame manifested in her hand, forming cleanly and steadily.
With a sharp swishing sound, she flicked her wrist and sent the flame shooting toward the dummy.
After releasing the spell, she confidently turned around, not even bothering to look back.
For a brief moment, nothing happened.
"Huh? Nothing's happened," one student blurted out loud, voicing the confusion that many others were silently sharing.
Several students exchanged looks, wondering if Tang Yue's spell had failed or fizzled out.
Then, without any warning, the dummy suddenly burst into flames.
Fire erupted violently across its surface in a terrifying surge, sparks flying as the heat intensified.
The sudden ignition startled the students, instantly proving that Tang Yue's spell had not failed at all—it had simply been delayed, making the result far more shocking than anyone had expected.
Everyone was shocked by what they had just witnessed, and a moment later the surprise turned into loud cheers.
The students reacted almost instantly, their excitement spilling out without restraint.
"That was amazing!"
"I want to use magic like that one day!"
"Teacher Tang Yue is so powerful!"
Voices overlapped as admiration and excitement filled the training area.
Tang Yue's confident smile never wavered in the slightest as she accepted their reactions.
She clearly knew the impact her demonstration had made and stood calmly, fully in control of the situation.
Astreo couldn't help but admit something to himself.
Before Mo Fan ever came into the picture, Tang Yue was actually the first person—and the first woman—who truly knew how to farm aura properly.
Her timing, confidence, and presentation were all on point, perfectly designed to impress an audience.
'Though it would all become water soon,' Astreo thought quietly as his mind drifted toward her future in the original plot.
(A/N: Insert Aqua absolute water meme)
He remembered how she eventually ended up being reduced to a typical damsel in distress, a fate that felt like a waste when compared to the confident figure standing in front of him now.
"Students, as you can see, this is how you properly use your magic," Tang Yue said confidently, her voice carrying clearly across the area.
"If your control is good enough, you can even influence and affect your spells from a distance, without needing excessive movement or wasted mana."
Her explanation was simple, but it immediately caught everyone's attention.
This time, everyone listened very carefully.
Their faces were filled with excitement and enthusiasm, as if they already believed themselves to be the next coming of Merlin.
The earlier distraction was completely gone, replaced by pure anticipation and eagerness to learn.
"Now," Tang Yue continued, "I want to ask how many Fire Mages are present here today. I'm willing to share my personal experience and expertise with those who specialize in this element."
The moment she said that, jealousy spread through the crowd almost instantly.
Several students quickly raised their hands, unable to hide their excitement.
Among them was Mo Fan, whose hand shot up without hesitation.
Those who couldn't raise their hands could only watch with envy, clearly wishing they had awakened the Fire Element as well.
"Good," Tang Yue said with a nod.
"Please come forward. I'd like to know how many stars each of you has already managed to control."
As the selected students stepped out from the crowd, the pendants around their necks began to glow faintly.
On each pendant, the number of shining stars was clearly visible, openly displaying how many stars they had successfully controlled so far.
"Haha! Mo Fan is a loser, he hasn't even controlled a single star!" Zhao Kunsan immediately mocked, pointing at Mo Fan without holding back.
Mo Fan, however, remained silent and did not bother responding to the ridicule.
What the others did not know was that Mo Fan had been focusing most of his effort on his Lightning Element.
In fact, he was already capable of using Lightning magic to some extent.
Because of that, he had intentionally neglected his Fire Element training, choosing a different path entirely.
The surrounding students quickly joined in the laughter, enjoying the chance to look down on someone else.
Tang Yue, however, did not mock him. Instead, she smiled gently and spoke in a calm tone.
"Your name is Mo Fan, right? It seems like you're having some difficulties with meditation. If you ever encounter any problems, you're welcome to come and ask me for guidance anytime."
The moment her words reached the students' ears, the laughter instantly died down.
In its place, a wave of jealousy spread through the crowd.
Many students clicked their tongues in annoyance, their expressions clearly unhappy.
Mo Fan, alone in a room with a teacher like Tang Yue?
Their imaginations immediately ran wild—not with anything explicit, but with exaggerated rumors, misunderstandings, and awkward situations they had seen in dramas and stories.
Just the idea of special attention was enough to make them uncomfortable and envious.
It was honestly ridiculous.
Many hadn't even received proper sexual education on such topics yet, which made their reactions even more childish.
Astreo knew very well that formal education on those matters wouldn't happen until their second year, and watching their overactive imaginations at work was almost amusing.
"Is there anyone here who has awakened a rare element?" Tang Yue asked next, her gaze sweeping across the students.
As a Shadow Magic Element user herself, she understood better than most just how difficult it was for students to cultivate an advanced or rare element, especially at such an early stage.
"Yo, teach, I have the Psychic Element," Astreo said as he casually raised his hand and stepped out from the crowd. His tone was relaxed, almost careless.
Tang Yue frowned slightly when she saw him, as certain pieces of information she had received during her mission immediately surfaced in her mind.
"My name is Astreo," he continued calmly, "and my element is Psychic."
The moment his words landed, the entire area erupted into shocked gasps.
Even though some people had already heard rumors about it, hearing it confirmed out loud was something else entirely.
Psychic Element was a rare White Magic, and awakening it was already uncommon.
Awakening it at the Novice level, however, was even more absurd.
In fact, such a case was rarer than one in ten thousand Lightning Element awakenings.
That single statement alone instantly pushed Astreo into the spotlight, drawing stunned looks from students and teachers alike.
'I see, so it's him,' Tang Yue thought silently.
When she had been assigned to this mission, she had already been informed that there might be a hidden connection between the Star Clan and the Black Vatican.
If such a link could be proven, then at the very least, the authorities could inflict significant damage on the Star Clan's reputation and force them to compensate the Chinese government heavily.
According to the intelligence she had received, the adopted son of a high-ranking official within the Star Clan was a boy named Astreo.
That same official was none other than Lisa, who was known publicly by the nickname "Thunder Empress."
The report also stated that this boy was currently studying at Tianlan High School.
That alone was one of the primary reasons Tang Yue had been deliberately sent to this particular school instead of any other.
Now that she was standing in front of him, the information from the report started lining up far too well to be a coincidence.
"I see," Tang Yue said aloud, smoothly hiding her thoughts.
"Then may I ask how many stars you have already controlled?" she continued, wearing the same seductive and confident smile that had already stolen the hearts of countless adolescent boys around her.
"Me?" Astreo replied casually, his tone calm and unbothered.
"I've controlled all of them."
His words instantly stupefied everyone present.
"Huh? All of them?" someone blurted out in disbelief.
It wasn't just the students who were shocked— even Tang Yue momentarily lost her composure upon hearing that statement. Her eyes widened slightly before she could stop herself.
Astreo, however, only grinned inwardly.
'Looks like it's my time to shine,' he thought to himself.
'I'm not going to keep pretending to be a pig eating a tiger.'
Without saying another word, Astreo raised his pendant for everyone to see.
The pendant reflected the image of his inner spiritual sea, where seven stars were clearly visible, perfectly aligned and shining steadily.
There was no instability, no flickering—just absolute control.
The proof was undeniable, and the silence that followed was far louder than any reaction could have been.
"I can also cast the magic," Astreo said calmly.
"Although I'm curious—who here would be willing to act as the target?" His words caused a brief stir among the students, most of whom immediately looked away.
Tang Yue, who was still processing the shock from earlier, reacted almost instantly.
"Use me as the target," she said without hesitation, stepping forward.
"Is that really fine, teacher?" Astreo asked, looking directly at her serious expression.
Tang Yue smiled confidently in response.
"Yes. I'm an Intermediate Mage. A Novice Tier One spell is mostly harmless, and with my level of cultivation, I'll be completely fine," she replied, clearly believing there was no real risk involved.
Hearing her confirmation, Astreo nodded slightly and calmly began chanting, "Spirit Ripples: Pacify."
In the very next instant, an invisible wave of psychic power shot forward.
The psychic attack struck Tang Yue directly, yet there was nothing visible for most people to see.
Only those with exceptionally high spiritual attainment could even perceive the disturbance in the air.
The moment the spell connected, Tang Yue's expression froze.
Her eyes lost focus as all emotion drained from her face, her thoughts instantly wiped clean as her mind went completely blank.
Before anyone could react, her body lost all strength.
With a dull thud, she collapsed forward onto the ground.
Her face hit the concrete first, with her backside prominent hanging in air, her posture made the fall look far more awkward than dignified.
In that single moment, every bit of aura she had carefully farmed up until now completely evaporated into nothing.
The silence that followed was absolute.
Astreo rubbed his cheek in confusion as he looked at Tang Yue lying on the ground.
He clearly remembered holding back.
He had only used a Novice Tier One spell and applied power equivalent to Spiritual Attainment Level One.
That level of output should not have been enough to knock someone out so easily, especially not someone at her cultivation level.
Then a realization suddenly hit him.
Even Mo Fan, who would later reach the Advanced Stage and awaken six different elements, only possessed a Spiritual Attainment of Level Two at his peak.
Despite that, he was still considered an absolute genius by the standards of the world. Astreo's eyebrows twitched as this fact settled in his mind.
Apparently, most people didn't even reach Spiritual Attainment Level One, not even after advancing to the Advanced Tier.
For the majority of mages, spiritual strength lagged far behind elemental cultivation, often being completely neglected.
And Tang Yue was only an Intermediate Tier mage.
With that in mind, the outcome suddenly made perfect sense.
No wonder she had blanked out so easily.
Even a restrained Novice Tier One psychic spell was more than enough to overwhelm her mental defenses.
After all, this very same spell had once been powerful enough to confuse a One-Eyed Rat monster when Astreo had first learned it years ago.
Compared to that, knocking out an unprepared Intermediate Mage was hardly surprising at all.
Meanwhile, the students were completely stunned by what they had just witnessed.
For a brief moment, no one knew how to react.
Some of the male students, upon seeing Tang Yue's exposed posture after collapsing, instantly suffered nosebleeds, their minds clearly short-circuiting from the shock and embarrassment.
At the same time, panicked voices began to erupt from the crowd.
"T-Teacher Tang Yue passed out!"
"Is she dead?! Someone check if she's dead!"
"Help! Someone, please help!"
The situation quickly descended into chaos as several students looked like they were about to rush forward all at once, unsure whether they were trying to help or simply acting out of panic.
Astreo's eyebrows twitched in irritation at the sight.
Without hesitation, he stepped forward and raised one hand, holding it out toward the crowd in a firm stopping gesture.
His presence alone caused the students who were about to jump forward to freeze in place, their instincts screaming at them to stop before doing something stupid.
The noise gradually began to die down as all eyes shifted toward him.
"Don't worry," Astreo said calmly.
"She was simply unable to withstand my psychic shock. One more spell will be enough to fix her."
His voice carried the effortless confidence of someone who radiated the aura of 'I know exactly what I'm doing, and yes, I can fix her.'
His words immediately halted the chaos.
No one dared to speak further, mostly because no one wanted to provoke this strange foreign young master who had already demonstrated something far beyond their understanding.
"You bastard! Why did you attack Teacher Tang Yue?!" Before Mo Fan could even think about stepping in to perform a cliché hero-saves-the-beauty act, another voice roared out angrily.
It was Mu Bai, another young master, whose face was filled with outrage as he shouted.
Astreo glanced at Mu Bai as if he were looking at someone particularly stupid.
He did not bother replying or explaining himself.
Instead, he completely ignored him and began chanting another spell, his focus returning to Tang Yue.
"Spirit Ripples: Pacify."
Once again, the invisible psychic magic surged forward and struck Tang Yue.
This time, instead of knocking her out, the spell jolted her consciousness back into place.
She let out a low groan and lay still for a few seconds, clearly disoriented, before realizing she was lying flat on the ground in an extremely awkward position.
Her eyes widened slightly as awareness returned, and she quickly pushed herself up, jolting to her feet in embarrassment and confusion as the surrounding students stared at her in stunned silence.
"Wait—what just happened?!" Tang Yue shouted as she abruptly came to her senses.
"Who attacked me?!" Almost instinctively, flames manifested in her palm as she reacted defensively.
The sudden surge of fire magic immediately frightened the nearby students, who hurriedly stepped backward in panic.
A second later, Tang Yue paused.
Her eyes scanned her surroundings, and fragments of memory quickly came rushing back.
She realized where she was, what she had been doing moments ago, and why she was now standing there with fire in her hand and students surrounding her in confusion.
"Teacher! It was Astreo who attacked you!" Mu Bai shouted loudly, seizing the moment.
He pointed an accusing finger straight at Astreo, his face filled with anger. "This bastard did it on purpose just to embarrass you!"
Before anyone else could react to the accusation, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed nearby.
Heavy boots hit the ground as several teachers rushed toward the scene, clearly alerted by the chaos and shouting.
When they arrived, they were met with a strange sight—Tang Yue standing there with a confused expression, Mu Bai angrily pointing at a calm-looking Astreo, and the surrounding students frozen in place.
"What happened here?" one of the teachers demanded immediately, his gaze moving between everyone involved.
"Teacher Tang Yue, are you alright?" he asked with concern, clearly trying to understand how the situation had spiraled so far out of control in such a short amount of time.
"Um… yes," Tang Yue replied hesitantly, still trying to fully process what had just happened. Before she could say anything else, Zhao Kunsan suddenly cut her off.
"Sir! Astreo attacked Teacher Tang Yue with his magic!" Zhao Kunsan shouted loudly.
"He even knocked her unconscious!" His voice was filled with certainty, as if he were delivering undeniable proof.
"What?!" The teachers were visibly shocked upon hearing that.
The idea that a student had attacked their own teacher was already hard to believe.
Several of them exchanged looks, their expressions filled with disbelief and confusion.
However, as they thought about it more carefully, their expressions gradually shifted.
Their brows furrowed as they realized that something about the accusation didn't add up at all.
"Wait a moment," another teacher spoke up, his tone skeptical.
He was one of Astreo's indirect lackeys, though most people didn't know that.
"How could Young Master Astreo possibly knock out Teacher Tang Yue? She is an Intermediate Mage."
The words caused a brief pause in the room.
Indeed, the logic simply didn't make sense.
A Novice-level student overpowering and knocking out an Intermediate Mage was something that shouldn't be possible under normal circumstances.
It was clear that this teacher had gained at least some basic common sense after working under Astreo for a while.
"Everyone, Astreo has actually aligned all seven of his stars and can already cast magic!" Mu Bai shouted loudly, trying to reinforce his accusation. The moment those words left his mouth, the teachers froze.
"What?!" several of them exclaimed almost simultaneously.
Their eyes immediately shifted toward Astreo, who simply looked back at them and casually raised his hand.
"Yo," he said lightly.
"…"
The silence that followed was thick and awkward.
"He can indeed use magic," Tang Yue finally spoke up, quickly breaking the strange atmosphere before it spiraled further out of control.
"However, he did not attack me intentionally." She took a breath and continued, choosing her words carefully.
"I requested a live demonstration myself. Since he is a Psychic Mage, I asked him to use his magic on me directly. What happened was entirely my responsibility."
Her explanation stunned everyone even more than before.
So not only could Astreo cast magic, but he had also knocked out an Intermediate Mage using nothing more than a Novice Tier One spell?
The implications of that alone were absurd. To make matters even more shocking, it had only been six months since Astreo had awakened his magic in the first place.
The teachers stared at him in disbelief, struggling to process what they had just learned. What they were witnessing was not just talent—it was something far beyond what common sense could explain.
When the teachers finally remembered that Astreo was the Young Master of the Star Clan, a massive behemoth among organizations, their tension gradually eased.
Once that fact clicked in their minds, everything suddenly seemed far more reasonable.
It was only natural to assume that Astreo had access to extremely precious resources—Stardust tools, rare artifacts, and even holy lands dedicated to cultivation that ordinary people could never hope to enter.
With those advantages, his abnormal growth no longer felt completely impossible.
"For those who may not know," Tang Yue continued, regaining her composure, "the Psychic Element is one of the hardest elements to defend against."
She shook her head slightly as she spoke.
"Because of my cultivation level, I believed I would be able to withstand it without any real issue. But unfortunately, that clearly wasn't the case."
She let out a quiet sigh, acknowledging her misjudgment.
Then she turned her gaze toward Astreo, her expression now filled with genuine curiosity rather than suspicion.
"May I ask what level your Spiritual Attainment is currently at?" she asked seriously, fully aware of how important that factor was.
"Uh… Level One, at least for now," Astreo replied after a brief pause.
'From the last,' he silently added in his mind, making sure not to say that part out loud.
"I see. Even I have not reached Spiritual Attainment Level One yet," Tang Yue said with a smile, clearly impressed. Her words immediately shifted the atmosphere in Astreo's favor.
The other teachers quickly followed suit, their attitudes changing almost instantly as they began praising him one after another.
"As expected of Young Master Astreo!"
"That level of spiritual control at such an early stage is truly remarkable!"
As the compliments continued to pile up, Astreo couldn't help but rub his nose awkwardly, feeling a rare sense of embarrassment creeping in.
'No wonder so many Young Masters end up with arrogance higher than Mount Tai itself,' he thought to himself.
With praise coming this easily, it was hard not to see how someone could become completely full of themselves.
Meanwhile, at the corner of the class, Mo Fan leaned closer to Zhang Xiaohou and whispered quietly, "Monkey… what exactly is spiritual attainment?"
Zhang Xiaohou stared at him in utter speechlessness.
His mouth opened slightly as if he wanted to say something, but no words came out.
"…"
The silence between them said everything.
To be continued...
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