Exit from the tunnel. Upset Mu Ning Xue.
Saying Mu Ning Xue was in a bad mood would be an understatement. As soon as the sweet rush of emotions from the battle with Mu Bai faded, she nearly died of shame. Especially when she got back to her room and finally looked up online what that "hentai" thing was that one of her little brother's girls had mentioned.
But under the weight of the ongoing practice, all those emotions took a backseat, and she even managed to pull herself together, reacting quite adequately to Mu Bai standing next to her and somehow maintaining her usual majestic image around the others... or so she thought.
But what had just happened... didn't make sense in Mu Ning Xue's head. The practice had started off decently enough. Groups from the two universities had gathered peacefully and reached the safe zone border on transport provided by Director Song He, then voted and discussed to decide who would lead them.
To Mu Ning Xue's surprise, it wasn't Mu Bai or even one of his girls, but Liao Ming Xuan, who boasted his Mid-level Hunter rank. Her little brother immediately declined the position, stating he didn't want to turn their practice into a farce—if he led them, the practice's goal wouldn't be met, meaning they wouldn't temper their character through the upcoming hardships. After all, those hardships wouldn't exist in front of Mu Bai.
The girl found this logical, given her brother's strength. She herself had never sought leadership; in her mind, she had always seen herself as just a weapon of the clan. And a weapon needs someone to direct it. Sure, they called her the Ice Queen of Imperial University and acknowledged her power, but even the captain spot on their team went to Lu Zheng Ge as the most capable. Yes, she was stronger than him and a better fighter by a head, but her personality and antisocial behavior made her unsuitable for the role.
So, out of habit, Mu Ning Xue didn't take the leader position this time, focusing more on observation. She wanted to first learn to be a competent commander before claiming the role. And what better way than learning from others' mistakes?
She also decided not to fight solo anymore but to factor in her teammates. Before, she could deploy her pseudo-domain without a second thought, not caring that it would weaken their magic. It seemed logical to her then—making herself stronger while putting enemies and allies on equal footing. Essentially, nothing changed for them, but she got stronger, so the team benefited. Dry math.
Now Mu Ning Xue understood she hadn't accounted for the main thing—their emotions. Having experienced them herself, she now saw how much they influenced behavior and thinking. Her teammates weren't soulless dolls satisfied with a mathematical explanation of her decisions. She needed to at least warn them in advance of her strategy choice. Or so the girl thought—that seemed the most correct approach...
Then came the fight. Liao Ming Xuan led them into what he called a "safe tunnel," despite her brother strongly advising against it. But no one listened to him, and she herself focused solely on observing, essentially relearning interpersonal dynamics. But maybe she shouldn't have been so passive, especially knowing her brother had trained under a Master Hunter in the wilds. Advice from someone with that experience shouldn't be ignored.
The fight itself was... chaotic. That word seemed most fitting to the girl. Wounded teammates, spells of various levels flying everywhere, blood, guts, more wounded, and so on in circles. She also saw Mu Bai deflecting lethal monster strikes from her teammates when they accidentally exposed themselves. He really kept his promise to intervene only in extreme cases.
Then the collapse... Mu Ning Xue had never been so scared. Even knowing her brother's power, she was terrified to death by the dozens of tons of rock falling on their group, from which they couldn't escape in time because of the mad monsters blocking the way. In a normal situation, she wouldn't even notice those weaklings. A few seconds, and they'd be gone. But the problem was, she didn't have those seconds. None of them did. Except her brother and his girls.
As it turned out, Mu Ning Xue had worried for nothing. After Mu Bai's signal, in a couple of seconds, they managed to halt the further collapse, evacuate everyone from the danger zone, and then, without spending a drop of magic energy, finish off the remaining monsters with a renewed collapse. Remarkable silent understanding and teamwork. Mu Ning Xue even envied those girls for knowing her brother so well... unlike her. For some reason, that realization squeezed her chest like a vise.
Then came the thing that soured her mood. Little brother named those who, in his opinion, contributed the most to the fight... and her name wasn't among them. Part of her even agreed with the outburst from Jing Jing yelling at Mu Bai. Though later, she'd freeze her solid for talking to her brother like that.
But the girl also wanted to hear why Mu Bai thought she hadn't stood out in the fight. After all, even Mo Fan with his Fire element at the second tier of Mid-level, or Lu Zheng Ge with his Pack Leader wolf summon, hadn't killed as many monsters together as she had solo. But when brother explained... she suddenly felt ashamed.
"Heh, want to know why I named Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Lu Zheng Ge as the standouts? Listen up." Mu Bai addressed Jing Jing, shifting his expression from smiling to deadly serious.
"Because without them, you'd all be dead." Those words carried such a grave chill that goosebumps ran down everyone's spines.
"Of course, I'm assuming a hypothetical good scenario where you all didn't die under the collapse. Otherwise, if I hadn't deflected the lethal strikes aimed at you, your group would have drowned in the enemy horde tactic long ago, without enough people to counter it. But these three's actions were the best because they prioritized your survival first, not killing as many monsters as possible." Mu Bai softened, smiling again.
"Mo Fan used his Shadow element to reveal the monsters hiding around. Yeah, maybe unintentionally, but he eliminated that hidden threat. Zhao Manyan traded his protective artifact to temporarily block one side's passage for all of you, letting you switch from Beginner-level spells to Mid-level—which was basically the decisive move in your victory. And Lu Zheng Ge, even semi-conscious, is still maintaining his wolf summon that helped block the passage, thinned the monster numbers, and kept him from being dead weight. Essentially, he's the only wounded guy Jiao Jiao didn't have to carry out herself and whom I didn't need to protect, since his summon handled it." Mu Bai explained in detail to everyone who could hear.
"And what were the rest of you doing?" He swept a contemptuous gaze over the conscious students. Everyone, including her, making Mu Ning Xue feel uneasy.
After all, she wanted her brother to look at her only with a warm smile... and maybe the face from that hentai she'd recently watched. At the last thought, the girl blushed involuntarily, and Mu Bai gave her a strange look but continued.
"You were just lobbing spells like street kids throwing balls at targets. The only thing I can praise is alternating spell volleys in waves, so while some were casting, others were preparing. No complaints there. But what I do complain about is that you kept standing in place. This isn't a fairground shooting gallery—it's the wilds, in an enclosed space. First thing, think how to escape, not how to kill every monster in sight. Fight on your terms, not the enemy's turf that caught you off guard. The subsequent collapse proves it. And don't blame just Mo Fan. You all wrecked the tunnel together; if not him, someone else would have delivered the final blow to the disaster." From Mu Bai's heavy tone, even the previously fuming Jing Jing bowed her head in shame. But brother wasn't done humiliating them.
"And what did you do with Bai Tingting? I'll tell you—nothing! Are you all idiots or pretending? She's your only healer! Your hope for survival in this hell! Why did no one cover her at all? I had to deflect about ten lethal strikes aimed at her per minute! Even if you'd somehow won by miracle, all the wounded would die in your arms because the one person who could save them would be turned into bloody pulp after that barrage! Not to mention minor injuries turning severe without proper healer care. I reasonably doubt any of you except Bai Tingting took a non-magical first aid course." Mu Bai sighed heavily at the end. Mu Ning Xue felt ashamed too—Bai Tingting had been right next to her, but she hadn't paid her any attention, caught up in slaughtering monsters.
"And finally, the last and biggest screw-up. Mu Ning Xue!" Mu Bai barked, making the girl instinctively snap to attention, though she'd never stood that way before.
"Why didn't you deploy your pseudo-domain at the start and freeze all those monsters to hell? You could have killed them all solo but held back, leading to all those injuries—and without me, to all your deaths." Brother looked at her sternly. And in a way, she even liked it... but mostly she felt shame, guilt, and confusion, ignoring the weird subconscious signals.
"...I didn't want to hinder their defense. If I'd released my pseudo-domain, it would suppress their ability to resist threats." The girl replied bitterly, looking at her brother with sad eyes. But he was unrelenting.
"You know your teammates' combat capabilities—and mine—perfectly, having seen all the arena fights. You must assess the battlefield soberly and know when to act together or solo. In this case, deploying your pseudo-domain would have prevented not just the collapse but any injuries at all. In an enclosed space, there's no escaping your ice, especially for such weak monsters. Their strength is only in numbers and total fearlessness of death. Remember this mistake and know—the greater the power, the greater the responsibility. If you have a way to solve the problem, use it in emergencies without hesitation; it saves more lives. And the more of you survive, the longer you'll struggle in this quagmire called life." At the end of Mu Bai's monologue, his eyes held some deep-seated sorrow. Mu Ning Xue even thought he wasn't reciting Master Hunter wisdom but speaking from personal experience. It made her realize how little she truly knew about her little brother... and she vowed to fix that.
"I understand—my responsibility as the strongest on the battlefield is to handle emergencies unless command orders otherwise." Mu Ning Xue nodded seriously, absorbing her brother's wisdom.
She had trusted him completely before, but after today's ordeal, her faith in him reached unprecedented heights. If that terrifying collapse repeated, she'd face it with a light smile. As long as brother was nearby, nothing would happen to her.
"Glad you get it." Mu Bai nodded to her, smiling warmly this time, making butterflies flutter in Mu Ning Xue's stomach. She wanted more praise from him.
"So, since you're all useless lumps who only know how to devour free resources, I'll take responsibility as the strongest here. Until we reach Jinlin, I'll drill wilderness common sense and magical combat basics into you. Anyone who doesn't obey my orders gets tossed into a monster nest. Believe me, my backers are strong enough to flip off your ancestors and walk away. Your fate's in your hands." Mu Bai measured them all with a heavy gaze and smiled devilishly.
Needless to say, despite the grimaces, no one refused? And Mu Ning Xue felt that strange sensation again from her brother's stern look. She still didn't understand it, but part of her wanted to mess up so he'd punish her...
For better or worse, her will was strong enough to crush such base urges.