Two months. That was precisely how long it took me to sufficiently restore my fusion magic skills to a point where I could cast with confidence under calm conditions. With any luck, by the time I graduate from the magic high school, I ought to be capable of deploying it in actual combat as well.
Having inherited Mu Bai's memories, navigating the school and the family proved straightforward enough. In truth, it was hardly a challenge. Within the clan, Mu Bai had always been treated as a second-class citizen; unless I demonstrated some truly extraordinary talent, no one was going to bother with me. Even then, it was a long shot. The lion's share of the family's spare funds went straight toward purchasing resources for Mu Ninxue at the Imperial Magic Academy. Another massive was carved out for Mu Yuan, Mu Zhuoyun's adopted son. Whatever pittance remained was left for the rest of us to squabble over on a residual basis. Over the past two months, I had been granted a single tincture of Ice Mountain Herb – just enough to slightly ease my affinity with the stars of the ice element. Mu Ninxue downed those daily, while Mu Yuan received them once or twice a week.
The only person who had ever shown Mu Bai any genuine kindness was Mu He. Yet he hardly showered me with resources either, presumably pouring every last coin into his favorite pastime: holding membership in a cabal of civilization-destroying fanatics – specifically, the Black Vatican.
I intended to leave him untouched until the events in the Ancient Capital played out; interfering prematurely would rob me of the chance to turn those future disasters to my advantage. Still, I had zero desire to play the devoted nephew. Instead, I nursed the persona of a aggrieved young relative, quietly resentful that his dear uncle was holding back on his rightful share of resources.
At school, I maintained a rock-solid hold on the top rank, displaying complete control over two stars of the ice element. To the faculty, this marked me as a terrifying, once-in-a-generation genius. In reality, I already possessed full mastery over the entire starlight system – a natural side effect of reaching the Second Spiritual Boundary, which granted me the mental capacity of a peak High-Tier mage without needing to burn through specialized resources. I was carefully building a stellar reputation, aiming to secure the rights to the Sacred Spring during our final year. Given my overarching ambitions, I would need that spring desperately. After all, I was planning nothing short of my first journey between parallel realities.
With my current reserves, I could sustain my presence on the other side for thirty minutes at most, provided I did not waste a single drop of time-and-space energy on anything else. My immediate target was the Totem Vessel of the White Tiger. I knew for a fact that it sat untouched in a secure location – namely, inside an ancient shrine along the approach to the Kunlun Mountains. In my past life, we had stumbled upon it purely by accident long after the battle at the Holy City, eventually passing it along to Mu Ninxue, which made sense given her contract with the White Tiger cub.
Why not simply snatch Mo Fan's pendant, considering it was vastly superior? Because totem vessels formed an indelible bond with their chosen wielders, refusing to select another master until the current one died. And I had no intention of killing Mo Fan. This was not a sudden burst of sentimental camaraderie, but cold, calculating logic. Mo Fan was a remarkably gifted mage and an all-around reliable guy who would prove immensely useful to have around – especially if I prevented him from acquiring the Demon element and becoming a puppet of the Dark King.
Returning home from school, I locked my bedroom door behind me. No one would disturb me now; they all assumed I was deep in cultivation.
I settled onto the bed and centered my mind, weaving together the dual energies of space and time while channeling the proper intent through the natural laws. A few minutes later, a cool, forest-scented breeze brushed across my face. Opening my eyes, I found myself sitting before a weathered, miniature shrine, its surrounding pillars adorned with carved bas-reliefs depicting the White Tiger.
Rising to my feet, I slipped inside the small sanctuary and extracted an exquisite pendant bearing the likeness of a white tiger from a fissure in the ancient stonework.
The instant the pendant touched my palm, I released the spell, snapping back into my room. For a brief second, the metal seared my skin – a clear sign that the bond had been established. I had every reason to congratulate myself: I was now the master of a Totem Vessel belonging to one of China's four primary Guardian Beasts, the White Tiger. I would have preferred the Vermilion Bird's vessel, of course, but unlike the tiger, the bird had left behind no offspring whatsoever, perishing in the war against the sea monsters over a millennium ago. Where its vessel lay, or whether it had been shattered beyond repair, was anyone's guess.
I knew precisely what my next move had to be. I needed to descend into the city sewers and hunt down a few One-Eyed Rodents. Once I extracted a soul from one of those beasts, I could upgrade the pendant into an elementary magical conduit. From that point on, it would be capable of capturing soul fragments and synthesizing them into artificial souls. In my previous life, I had spent years salivating over Mo Fan's absurdly efficient method for reinforcing his stars. Back then, I had only managed to push my primary space, light, and time magic to the fifth tier through sheer grit – I simply lacked the astronomical funds required to go any further, to say nothing of owning a miraculous totem vessel.