Chapter 30: Cold Stares and Mockery

The female elf NPC appeared beside Chen Mo. "Three challenges completed. Your final result is 385 meters on hell difficulty. Would you like to save your instance record?"

"Of course not!" Chen Mo was no masochist—there was no need to torture himself on hell difficulty. He’d rather return to beginner mode, earn some points, and take a leisurely stroll instead. Much more comfortable.

The elf smiled. "Instance record erased. Your next challenge will begin from zero meters on hell difficulty."

"Wait! I said erase everything—I want to start from beginner mode, not from hell difficulty!"

The elf explained patiently, "You have already cleared all three beginner difficulties. You can no longer challenge them. You can only start from hell difficulty."

You little witch! Just wait—one day I’ll strip you bare and ravage you a thousand times over!!

Chen Mo grit his teeth in frustration, but there was nothing he could do about this elf.

"In three seconds, you will be teleported back to the instance hall."

Three!
Two!
One!

A violet light enveloped him. That’s right, Chen Mo was no longer bathed in white light; instead, a purple radiance shone from him. Chen Mo guessed the color of the light was related to one’s strength.

Damn! Don’t get exposed!

Chen Mo was about to be transported back to the lobby in a burst of violet light. In a hurry, he switched his ID—transforming into the Little Prince!

Buzz! The violet light vanished, replaced by a flicker of white.

In the instance hall, Wei Zheng frowned slightly. He had just caught a glimpse of violet light and was about to search for its source, but it disappeared in an instant.

Wei Zheng shook his head and muttered to himself. He was overthinking things—there was no way any student here could possibly emit violet light.

Chen Mo possessed a peculiar ability—he could always spot his little sister in a crowd at a glance.

The little girl seemed troubled, a frown on her face. Chen Mo went over to comfort her. "Sweetheart, what’s wrong? Why do you look so down?"

Ning Xuan clenched her fists, gritting her teeth. "It’s infuriating, just too infuriating! If it weren’t for that guy called Demon King, I’d have cleared the instance already! I hate that guy so much. Hmph! If I ever find out who Demon King is, I’ll freeze him solid with my magic!"

Chen Mo couldn’t help but stifle a laugh.

Ning Xuan glared at him. "Chen Mo! How can you laugh!"

Whenever Ning Xuan called her brother by his full name, it meant she was really angry.

She had reached 9,900 meters. In the final hundred meters, ten fireballs rushed at her at once. She relied on her keen insight to spot their flaws and slip through, then used ice magic to fend off their combined assault.

She was just about to clear the instance when, out of nowhere, the system announced that Demon King had activated hell difficulty, increasing the challenge for everyone—ten more fireballs appeared! Ning Xuan’s ice magic was still on cooldown, and as a magic apprentice, her constitution was weak—there was no way she could dodge ten simultaneous fireballs. She failed the challenge.

Hearing her complaint, Chen Mo comforted her. "It’s all that damned Demon King’s fault. Don’t worry, little sis, I’ll help you find him and give him a good thrashing!"

Ning Xuan wasn’t the only one—many students in the instance hall were grumbling about the increased difficulty. Where once they could have improved their records, now they were stuck, making no progress at all.

Wei Zheng spoke in a booming voice, "Enough! No more noise. Line up by class and open your instance data. Instructors will now check your results!"

Soon, Classes A, B, C, D, and F were all lined up.

Everyone opened their instance data, making their professions, stats, and records perfectly clear.

Above Chen Mo’s head was the ID Little Prince.

[Little Prince]
[Magic Apprentice]
[Constitution: 5]
[Spirit: 20]
[Instance Record: 100 meters]

Zhu Mao, the tall boy whose finger Chen Mo had once broken, saw the "100 meters" above Chen Mo’s head and burst out laughing. "Trash is trash—still just 100 meters! You’re a disgrace to Class F!"

Zhong Lin’er, the TikTok goddess of Class F, covered her mouth and giggled. "And you call yourself Little Prince? Shameless! You should call yourself Little Dog instead, hahaha!"

Ye Zhiyan couldn’t stand it any longer and spoke up for Chen Mo. "We’re all classmates in Class F. There’s no need to mock each other. If you’re so capable, go compete with Classes D and C instead! Laughing at someone who’s just a few steps behind you—what’s there to be proud of?"

Zhu Mao had a record of 1,500 meters, while Zhong Lin’er’s was 1,000 meters. In Chen Mo’s eyes, those scores were no different from those of toddlers. He ignored them with disdain.

"What are you all arguing about? Look at the scores above your heads. Do you really have any right to bicker?" Instructor Moon Fox rarely lost her temper, but now she approached with her hands behind her back.

The students fell silent at once.

Moon Fox glanced at Chen Mo’s calm expression and the numbers above his head, her voice turning icy. "Chen Mo! You seem awfully composed. Out of all 2,000 students, you alone have a score of just 100 meters. Even as a magic apprentice, can’t you get past 100 meters?"

Laughter rippled through the surrounding crowd.

Chen Mo replied calmly, "Sorry, Instructor. I wanted to explore other ways to play the instance, which delayed me. Next time, I promise I’ll get past 100 meters."

Moon Fox was both exasperated and amused. "It’s true, there are many strategies on the Evolution Forum, and plenty of hidden gameplay in this instance—but those are for experts. You’re an F-Class student who can’t even clear 100 meters, yet you’re thinking of advanced tactics? Do you have any self-awareness at all?"

Chen Mo had no rebuttal, so he could only nod. "Understood, Instructor."

Moon Fox turned, sweeping her gaze over the crowd. "And the rest of you—stop laughing. Look at Class D—their average improvement was 1,000 meters. Your best is only 3,000 meters, and you’re all stuck. Is that really something to be proud of?"

Zhong Lin’er protested, "That’s because the difficulty suddenly increased—I didn’t have time to adapt!"

Moon Fox replied coldly, "Was it only you whose difficulty increased? The whole world’s difficulty went up. If others can adapt, why can’t you?"

After venting her frustration, she opened the leaderboard and muttered to herself as she saw Demon King at the top, "Demon King, who are you really? Why are you so outstanding? If these students were even one ten-thousandth as good as you, I wouldn’t have such a headache."

Compared to Chen Mo’s experience, Ning Xuan was treated like royalty.

Even in Class A, full of prodigies, she was like a princess adored by all.

Wei Zheng, usually cold and emotionless, was now all smiles. "Ning Xuan, you’re amazing—9,900 meters! Even among the thousands of evolution schools across the country, you’d be at the very top. Everyone, work harder and take Ning Xuan as your example!"

The students of Class A showed various expressions—some envious, some jealous.

Especially Wei the Young Lord, one of the five great prodigies. He held a folding fan, with sharp brows and starry eyes, looking like a gallant noble straight out of a martial arts novel.

"And how does it feel, Young Lord Wei, to have your limelight stolen by a little girl?" teased another of the five prodigies, Zhang Shengmo. Both their families were ancient martial clans with thousands of years of history, well-known throughout Central China.

"Shengmo, don’t tease me. It’s just a little girl—I’m not bothered. What intrigues me is her brother."

Zhang Shengmo frowned. "Oh? You mean that Chen Mo, who’s dead last on the rankings? What’s so strange about him?"

Wei spun his fan thoughtfully. "I watched him secretly just now. Despite all the ridicule, he remained calm and unflustered. Someone with such composure—how could his record be only 100 meters?"

Zhang Shengmo’s interest was piqued. "So, you think Chen Mo did it on purpose? But what’s the point?"

Wei shook his head. "I don’t know. But I have a feeling—this Chen Mo is even more dangerous than his sister."