Chapter 5: Eye of Bewitchment
Tang San then learned from Yu Xiaogang that Mo Bai had a bodyguard stronger than his teacher, though the teacher did not specify the exact Rank.
Did he not know, or had he only heard rumors?
Tang San sensibly did not continue asking; after all, once Yu Xiaogang finished that sentence, he turned away, clearly not wanting to bring up the matter further.
"Then goodbye, Teacher."
Tang San bowed respectfully and exited the room.
...
Early the next morning, Mo Bai sent Shadow One out to spread news across various parts of the city, and the rumors began.
Meanwhile, Mo Bai examined his eyes in the dormitory. His Innate Soul Power had risen to Rank 8, and his eyes had undergone some unknown changes.
Mo Bai stared directly at his pupils reflected in the mirror. His brown eyes were mixed with a faint pink hue, though it accounted for very little—not even one-ninth of the original—making it hard to notice without careful inspection.
"Is this integrating my First Spirit Skill into my original Martial Soul?"
Mo Bai sensed the mystery within. Hypnosis was a potent form of suggestion, but he now felt that through mere eye contact, he could plant subtle suggestions in those who looked at him.
Perhaps once or twice would yield no results, but hundreds or nearly a thousand times would certainly have some effect; and if it were tens of thousands of times...
It was equivalent to engraving his hypnosis into the hearts of those he made eye contact with, and most importantly, it was impossible to guard against.
Normal Soul Masters usually had to reveal their Soul Rings to release a Soul skills, but his was equivalent to an instinct, making it very difficult to detect.
Mo Bai pondered for a moment.
"Eye of Bewitchment—that's a good name."
Mo Bai blinked his eyes repeatedly, hiding the pink light in his pupils, and smiled at his reflection.
"I am a good person."
Just as he arrived at the academy classroom, Mo Bai heard the news that Tang San and Yu Xiaogang had set off for the Spirit Hunting Forest to hunt for a Soul Ring.
"Pfft, with that kid's Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, what kind of good Soul Beast could he possibly acquire?"
A boy not far from Mo Bai said sourly, and in his small group, two other boys echoed him.
Yet, the three of them kept glancing at Mo Bai from time to time. They all knew that as long as they could attract Mo Bai's attention, they would get at least one gold coin.
Mo Bai raised his head slightly and looked in their direction—or rather, many people in the class thought the same way.
Mo Bai's thoughts stirred, and Delusion was activated,
"Do you all really think Tang San's Soul Ring is not as good as mine?"
"Of course!" Seeing that they had attracted Mo Bai's attention, no one in the class hesitated for a second to answer.
One person's words might be doubted, but three people can create a tiger.
And when it was an entire class of people...
[Ding! Xiao Yu and 30 others have believed your lie—that Tang San's First Spirit Skill is inferior to yours. Trust level 100%, Manifestation level 0.001%. Manifestation successful: Tang San's first Soul Ring age reduced by ten years!]
Mo Bai heard this result and felt slightly surprised. He then waved his hand generously, and 30 gold coins landed in the hands of their respective owners to maintain his persona.
"Thank you, Young Master Mo!" * 30
As the three boys who led the charge, they were even given admiring looks by the whole class, their heads held high.
After the commotion, the class returned to calm, because they knew Mo Bai only did this once a day; doing it more would only cause resentment.
Reading the situation was the secret to making money.
Meanwhile, in the Spirit Hunting Forest, a Datura Snake coiled around a large tree waiting for prey felt its life force quietly slipping away, its body size shrinking by 10 centimeters without anyone noticing.
...
By the time Shadow One returned, it was nearly noon.
According to Shadow One's report, the major mercenary groups and small vendors in the Spirit Hunting Forest had already started spreading the news. Among these mercenary groups, the highest-ranked members were only Great Soul Masters.
Since they were already in the business of licking blood off the blade, they naturally wouldn't refuse a commission that offered easy money just for moving their lips and spreading some rumors, and they gladly accepted.
However, the asking price was not cheap either: starting at one month, 100 gold coins per month. There were 6 mercenary groups, plus other small vendors; just in the Spirit Hunting Forest alone...
it cost Mo Bai 1000 gold coins.
Mo Bai couldn't let the city go either; he promoted through major pharmacies and grocery stores. As it turned out, no one refused, the asking price was the same, and Mo Bai spent 700 gold coins to get it done.
And this was only the initial preparation.
Rumors are born from lies, and countless rumors intertwine to form one massive lie.
And within this massive lie, the most critical point was himself. Mo Bai looked out over Nuoding Academy.
When he brought out the real thing, the lie would no longer be a lie. As for where the real thing would come from, that depended on the three hardworking leeks he was raising.
Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Yu Xiaogang.
It was just that Tang San had already been taken to the Spirit Hunting Forest by Yu Xiaogang, but this was exactly what Mo Bai wanted. Whether going in or coming out, they would faintly hear the news spreading everywhere.
One person's words they might not believe, but what about the words of a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand people?
The words in the classroom today had already proven it was feasible.
Afternoon at Nuoding Academy.
Mo Bai ran into Xiao Wu again by chance.
He started the Q&A session once more, and this time the questions were even simpler: gender, age, length, width.
Xiao Wu happily accepted the 4 gold coins.
The fifth question arrived, which was the final one Mo Bai had prepared. With a thought, Delusion was activated, "Xiao Wu, what do you think my Soul Power Rank is?"
Unfortunately, the rumors hadn't reached Nuoding Academy yet, otherwise he could have turned falsehood into truth directly through Xiao Wu.
As soon as Xiao Wu heard this kind of question, she held her head high.
It was another one of these very simple questions. She could ask them one by one, but based on the age she guessed earlier, the other party had Innate Full Spirit Power and was one year older than her.
That should be around Rank 16 or 17.
The other party was so smart, it must be the highest one.
Xiao Wu answered confidently, "Rank 17!"
"Ding-dong, that's correct."
Mo Bai happily snapped his fingers and flicked a gold coin. Everyone's first answer, when they were full of confidence, was definitely the one with the highest level of trust.
Rank 17 was within his acceptable range. Normally, a Genius with Innate Full Spirit Power who reached Rank 17 after one year of Cultivation was considered quite diligent.
This showed that Xiao Wu thought highly of him.
Because of money? That's right!
[Ding! Xiao Wu has believed your lie—that your Soul Power is Rank 17. Trust level 100%, Manifestation level 50%. Successfully manifested half of Rank 17 Soul Power!]
Mo Bai smiled, feeling the Soul Power in his body rapidly rise, breaking through layer after layer of barriers to reach Rank 15.
After Xiao Wu finished answering, the two parted ways amicably.
After Mo Bai cast a glance at Xiao Wu, a flash of pink light shone in his eyes, and they left each other.
...
On the other side, in the Spirit Hunting Forest, after farting three times, Yu Xiaogang looked at the Datura Snake's length with a drained expression, frowning imperceptibly. What a pity, it was 380 years old, about 40 years away from the optimal age.
It would have been better if it were ten years older, but for now, absorbing it was their best option. After all, being able to catch this Datura Snake was the greatest stroke of luck among fortunes.
"Little San, one of the Ten Core Competencies of the Martial Soul world that I have researched and proposed..."
"...Yes, Teacher! I believe you!"