#12ConfidentialAI Model: moonshotai/kimi-k2-instruct-0905
Chapter 12 – Keep It Secret
After completing his Breakthrough, Lin Mo returned to Dormitory Seven, heart racing with excitement.
He pushed the door open gently and stepped inside.
It was already past wake-up time, so the dormitory was fairly lively.
Quite a few Work-Study Students were there, either tidying their things or chatting in small groups.
Sharp-eyed Wang Sheng was first to notice Lin Mo. He instinctively glanced toward Lin Mo's arms, then frowned in puzzlement.
"Lin Mo, why aren't you carrying your Egg today?" Wang Shengscratched his head, puzzled.
"You're practically joined at the hip with that Egg—how come we don't see it?"
Wang Sheng's question drew curious looks from everyone else in the dormitory.
They were all used to seeing Lin Mo wandering the academy with that strangely patterned Egg cradled in his arms.
Now that he'd suddenly stopped, it felt oddly unsettling.
Lin Mo smiled, walked to his bunk, and sat down unhurriedly.
"There's no need to carry it anymore…"
He paused, then added under their increasingly curious gazes, "My recent Cultivation has improved; the Egg… has hatched."
"H-hatched?" Wang Sheng's eyes bulged, his voice jumping an octave.
The dormitory fell silent; everyone seemed frozen, staring straight at Lin Mo.
Of course they knew Eggs could hatch—every village chick or duckling came from one.
But an Egg Martial Soul from Awakening could actually hatch?
It shattered everything they thought they knew about Spirits.
Once you Awakened your Spirit, wasn't its form fixed forever?
A sickle stayed a sickle, a hoe stayed a hoe; if your Spirit was Blue Silver Grass today, it would be Blue Silver Grass for life.
An Egg Martial Soul should stay an Egg—how could it hatch like a normal one?
"A Spirit… can hatch?" a Work-Study Student muttered, face full of disbelief.
"Yeah, never heard of such a thing!" another chimed in.
Wang Sheng recovered from the shock, excitement flooding his face. He hurried to Lin Mo's bedside and urged,
"It hatched? What came out? Come on, show us! We're dying to know!"
Seeing Wang Sheng's impatience and the hungry curiosity on the others' faces,
Lin Mo hesitated, lowering his head as if weighing something.
A moment later he lifted his gaze to their expectant eyes and said slowly, "I can show you… but I want everyone to promise me one thing."
"What is it? Spit it out!" Wang Sheng thumped his chest. "As long as we get to see your new Spirit, anything's negotiable!"
Lin Mo swept his eyes across the room, voice turning serious.
"I want you all to keep this quiet for now—don't let word of my Spirithatching get out."
He paused briefly, then explained, "After the hatch, I feel my strength has risen quite a bit.
I want to use my newly hatched Spirit to score well in the year-end finals.
That way I might gain more attention from the teachers during the academy's end-of-year Spirit-hunt trip,
and hopefully obtain a spirit ring better suited to me and of higher quality."
The moment Lin Mo finished, Xiao Wu leapt down from her bunk, hands on hips, standing in the center of the dormitory.
"Thought it was something huge—just this?" Her big eyes swept over everyone as she spoke like a big sister,
"Secret kept! Sister Xiao Wu has got this!"
She waved her small fist, deliberately putting on a threatening tone:
"You all heard! Anyone who spills the beans about Lin Mo's Spirithatching and ruins his shot at a good grade and a great spirit ring
had better watch out for Sister Xiao Wu's fist!"
"We're all Work-Study Students in Dormitory Seven—we should cooperate and stick together! Got it?"
Under Xiao Wu's "authority" the others looked at one another and nodded in agreement.
"Don't worry, Sister Xiao Wu, Lin Mo—we won't say a word!"
"Yeah, we in Dormitory Seven stand united!"
"I want to see how awesome Lin Mo's new Spirit is—why would I spoil it for him?"
Even Tang San, standing in the corner, hesitated a moment, then met Lin Mo's gaze and nodded softly. "I won't tell either."
Seeing everyone promise, Lin Mo smiled gratefully. "Thank you, all."
Just then Wang Sheng caught a key detail in what Lin Mo had said and asked in surprise,
"Hold on, Lin Mo—you just said you want a good spirit ring during the year-end Spirit-hunt trip?
Do you mean… you're confident you can reach Rank Ten before the year ends?"
Obtaining a spirit ring required first hitting the Bottleneck at Rank Ten; without that level, talking about Rings was pointless.
Wang Sheng's question refocused every gaze on Lin Mo.
Yes, Lin Mo had sounded certain he'd reach Rank Ten before term finished.
But he was only Innate Level Six Soul Power, barely half a year past his Awakening—could he really Cultivate that fast?
Before Lin Mo could answer, a calm voice spoke up.
"Probably won't need to wait till year-end." It was Tang San, looking at Lin Mo with steady certainty.
"If I'm not mistaken, your spirit power has already broken through to Rank Ten."
A flicker of surprise crossed Lin Mo's face; he turned to Tang San and nodded. "Mm, Tang San's right—I just hit Rank Ten."
They were all Spirit Masters or Spirit Scholars with spirit power; they could sense such things to varying degrees.
Moreover, Tang San, reincarnated with memories intact, was naturally more perceptive, and he Cultivated the Purple Demon Eye, which greatly boosted mental force.
Plus, though Lin Mo kept a low profile, he hadn't deliberately hidden his spirit power fluctuations while Cultivating in the dormitory.
So it didn't surprise him that Tang San had sensed his Breakthrough.
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