The Entire Empire Nearly Became Monks

Ever since Li Chaoci went missing as a child, the Li family had never given up
searching for him.

Even though so many years had passed, and Mrs. Mo’s father had long since passed
away early due to mental energy rage disorder, the Li family still believed that
Li Chaoci was alive.

Perhaps because he had been too young when he disappeared, he might have
forgotten the Li family.

That was what Mrs. Mo had always thought.

Now, suddenly hearing what Wen Zhaoyan said, Mrs. Mo could hardly believe it.

Forgetting propriety for a moment, she quickly asked, “Your Highness, the person
you speak of—is he truly Baibai’s uncle, my… our Li family’s missing… my younger
brother?”

Wen Zhaoyan understood Mrs. Mo’s feelings, so he didn’t beat around the bush. A
hint of barely perceptible gentleness appeared in his cold, handsome features.
“If madam has only one younger brother named Li Chaoci, then yes, it is he.”

Mrs. Mo’s body swayed.

In that moment, she had both feared Wen Zhaoyan’s answer and desperately wanted
to hear it.

Li Chaoci.

Yes, it was Little Ci. She had only this one younger brother!

Mrs. Mo said urgently, “You’ve truly seen Chaoci? Where is he? Does he know that
Baibai is his nephew? Then he must know I’m here too? Then why…”

Why hadn’t he come to find her?

Why hadn’t he returned to the Li family?

Wen Zhaoyan understood Mrs. Mo’s excitement and urgency.

He lowered his voice slightly. “Madam Mo need not worry. He is well. However…”

He paused, his voice dropping even lower. “Many people are looking for him. It
is not advisable for him to reveal himself now.”

Mrs. Mo understood.

She thanked Wen Zhaoyan sincerely. “I don’t know how you and Chaoci came to know
each other, but I beg you to tell him this: no matter what happens, he can come
to us. We will stand with him. And I hope he can… come home soon.”

Wen Zhaoyan said, “I will.”

Knowing that her brother would be in danger if his identity were exposed, Mrs.
Mo stopped asking questions.

She instructed the guards to donate all the toys and playground equipment piled
up everywhere to kindergartens in Mo Bai’s name, then took Mo Bai back inside.

Back in the living room, Mrs. Mo placed Mo Bai on the slide and then began to
drift into thought.

Sensing that she was still unsettled, Mo Bai asked, puzzled, “Aren’t you happy?”

Meeting her son’s concerned gaze, Mrs. Mo couldn’t help patting Mo Bai’s head
and said softly, “I was thinking about what His Highness the Crown Prince said.”

Mo Bai: “?”

Mrs. Mo said, “Baibai, do you think His Highness the Crown Prince was telling
the truth?”

Deep down, Mrs. Mo still harbored some doubt.

If it really was her younger brother Li Chaoci who had returned, and he even
knew that she had married into the Mo family and that Mo Bai was her son, why
hadn’t he come to see them?

Even if he was worried about the danger of exposing his identity, upon learning
that the Li family had never stopped searching for him, he should have sent them
some word.

But there was nothing.

Nothing at all.

Instead, the Crown Prince, who had always been somewhat distant from them, was
the first to know about this.

This made Mrs. Mo’s mind wander.

Was Wen Zhaoyan lying to her?

The Crown Prince’s position was unstable now, and the Empire’s Emperor didn’t
like him either.

If the Crown Prince wanted to return to the Capital Star, he would surely need
to make some preparations.

And the Mo family was now the richest in the Empire.

Mrs. Mo even began to suspect that Wen Zhaoyan might be trying to use the Mo
family for something.

It wasn’t that she was overly suspicious. Ever since the Mo family had been
framed by the other two hover vehicle companies and nearly went bankrupt, she
felt that aside from her own family, she needed to maintain a certain level of
vigilance toward everyone else.

Mo Bai said, “It should be true.”

Mrs. Mo hadn’t expected Mo Bai to trust Wen Zhaoyan so much. She was surprised.
“Why is Baibai so certain?”

Mo Bai said, “Because Wen Zhaoyan likes little uncle.”

Mrs. Mo paused for a few seconds.

Mrs. Mo: “…What did you say? His Highness the Crown Prince likes… your uncle?”

Mo Bai said, “Mm. Wen Zhaoyan said so himself.”

Mrs. Mo didn’t speak.

She took a while to digest this, then asked again, “When did this… happen?”

Mo Bai calculated the time. “Around the time Daddy’s mental energy acted up?”

Mrs. Mo murmured to herself, “No wonder…”

No wonder they had lived next to the Crown Prince’s estate for two years without
any contact. Yet that night, His Highness the Crown Prince had suddenly summoned
Kai and had Xixi come to treat Mo Xiangtian.

At the time, they hadn’t understood why. Now, thinking back, it was all for her
younger brother.

“Mm.” Mo Bai, completely unaware that he was a six-year-old child, nodded
seriously, his voice milky. “It’s only right to curry favor with the family.”

Mrs. Mo: “…”

Mrs. Mo’s feelings were complicated.

Neither mother nor son noticed that the guards standing silently nearby had
overheard every word.

Each of them looked as if struck by lightning.

Who would have thought that His Highness the Crown Prince and their Sir had such
a relationship!

They desperately wanted to gossip with their fellow brothers. But knowing their
Sir’s personality, if they actually said anything, they’d likely be chopped into
pieces and fed to the monsters.

Daring to gossip about their Sir behind his back? Were they tired of living?

The guards each patted their chests, looking as if they would never dare to
speak.

That night.

After the Mo family had gone to sleep, the guards followed their daily reporting
routine.

They meticulously reported everything that had happened at the Mo family to
their immediate superior.

Li especially loved hearing about his little nephew. He made the guards talk
about it every day.

He never grew tired of hearing about the little guy going online; Li could
listen to it many times without getting bored.

As usual, the guard reported every move of Mo Bai’s that day. When he mentioned
what Wen Zhaoyan had said, Li—that is, Li Chaoci—narrowed his fox-like eyes.
“Wen Zhaoyan knew the gifts were from me?”

The guard answered honestly, “That’s what he said.”

Li Chaoci tapped his fingers on the desk, his fox-like eyes thoughtful.

After a long moment, he spoke slowly, his voice carrying a hint of laziness.
“Continue protecting the Mo family. Watch all strangers who approach them.”

“Yes, sir.”

After ending the call, Li Chaoci let out a disdainful snort.

The monster stretched his four arms and yawned. “Sir, you’re not happy.”

Li Chaoci said flatly, “Someone is impersonating me to get close to the Mo
family. And that Empire’s Crown Prince.”

The monster thought to himself, ‘Who would dare impersonate you, old fox?’ But
he said, “Who is impersonating you?”

Li Chaoci said with a sneer, “Who else? That Mo Li.”

The monster immediately thought of Mo Li, the suspected mermaid king—the only
person who had ever stumped him, the mysterious figure whose whereabouts he
still hadn’t found!

Li Chaoci said coldly, “This person resembles the little brat, which makes it
easy for him to gain the Mo family’s trust.”

And they still hadn’t uncovered who this Mo Li really was or what his purpose
was.

For the Mo family, this was actually very dangerous.

The monster said, “It would be easy to expose him, as long as you go back
yourself.”

Genes couldn’t be faked.

No matter what method this Mo Li had used to make himself look so much like the
Mo family’s little brat, the genes inside his body couldn’t be related to the Li
family.

Hearing this, Li Chaoci’s face immediately darkened. A few seconds later, he
gave a dismissive laugh. “Do you think I can still go back looking like this?”

The monster opened his mouth to say something, his tentacles shifting uneasily,
but in the end, he said nothing.

A few days later, the second round of the singing competition also ended.

Xixi was still in first place.

Because the second round onward were all live performances, not long after the
second round ended, the third round—the finals—began.

This time, Xixi sang the ‘Mind Purification Mantra’ that Mo Bai had specially
recorded for him to learn.

At the competition venue.

As soon as the Mind Purification Mantra began, the entire venue fell silent.

Even those watching the live stream became quiet. Not a single bullet comment
was posted.

If, before, Mo Bai’s a cappella version of The Great Compassion Mantra had
sounded strange and unpleasant, then this Mind Purification Mantra, sung with a
mermaid’s uniquely celestial voice and carrying the mermaid clan’s unique
soothing special ability, made everyone feel an unprecedented sense of calm.

This calm felt as if even their consciousness sea had been elevated.

Even after Xixi finished singing, everyone was still immersed in that state of
mental stillness and purity. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Only one person sent Xixi a message.

[Mo: Beautifully sung.]

Xixi smiled, his sweet, and replied, [Thank you. You taught me well.]

The venue was silent for a full few minutes before erupting in thunderous
applause.

Xixi faced the audience. “Thank you, everyone. That was the ‘Mind Purification
Mantra’ that Mr. Mo taught me. I hope you like it.”

The audience both inside and outside the venue went crazy, flooding the comments
with ‘Mo is awesome,’ ‘Xixi is awesome,’ and so on.

Because they had truly felt their consciousness sea being soothed.

And even through a screen, this soothing was even stronger than what they had
felt listening to Xixi sing other songs before!

Unsurprisingly, in the third round finals, Xixi again took first place, becoming
the champion of the singing competition finals!

After the competition ended, Mo’s ‘Great Compassion Mantra’ and Xixi’s ‘Mind
Purification Mantra’ became songs played on loop in every street and alley. Some
even said they had been adopted by the military and the front lines, used
alongside calming agents to provide soothing support to soldiers on the
battlefield.

And because more and more people were being soothed by these two scriptures, Mo
Bai, who had made it all happen, received even more faith, invisibly.

One night, a small glass bottle, shaped like a wishing bottle, suddenly appeared
around his neck.

“This is…” Mo Bai’s eyes widened slightly. “A faith collector!”

His faith collector was back!

Every god actually had a faith collector. It could more accurately collect faith
and condense it into a divine status, or into becoming a high priest.

But after he was reborn as little Mo Bai, not to mention a divine status, he
didn’t have a faith collector either.

And now, his faith collector was back.

That meant that one day, his divine status would also be restored. It was just a
matter of time.

He wondered how the other gods were doing…

Perhaps they too had been reborn elsewhere, like him?

Mo Bai held the glass bottle, unable to put it down.

Just then, Xixi messaged him again, hoping to learn more scriptures.

Xixi was determined to help more humans with their mental energy rage disorder.
Having discovered that his soothing special ability, when used with the
scriptures, had an amplified effect, he only wanted to sing scriptures.

Mo Bai, overjoyed at having regained his faith collector, agreed without
hesitation. “Alright! I might not know much else, but chanting scriptures is my
specialty.”

After all, he was a Wish-Granting God who had come from temples and Taoist
monasteries. What scripture didn’t he know?

Mo Bai immediately recorded over a dozen scriptures for Xixi.

Things like The Diamond Sutra, The Mahaparinirvana Sutra, The Shurangama Sutra,
The Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva Vow Sutra, and so on.

After receiving them, Xixi obediently thanked him. With Mo Bai’s permission, he
posted Mo Bai’s recordings to his StarBlog.

After posting Mo Bai’s original versions, he then worked hard to learn them
himself. After learning them, he also recorded his own cover versions and posted
them.

Suddenly, all across the interstellar, everywhere was chanting scripture…
reciting sutras…

Over ten days passed.

The number of people suffering from consciousness sea rage attacks had decreased
by nearly 50%!

Many people said that after listening, they felt very relaxed and comfortable.

And if they learned to chant it themselves, the effect was even better!

A month passed.

The number of rage attacks decreased by another 30%! A total reduction of 80%!!

The Empire’s government was almost moved to tears. This data had never been seen
before!!

Did this mean the Empire’s people would no longer suffer from mental energy
surges?

If mental energy didn’t surge, it wouldn’t worsen. Even if the source of
pollution still existed, at least the pain was reduced, and lifespans were
extended!

Until two months later.

The Empire’s government vaguely sensed that something was wrong.

Couples and pairs who had already set their wedding dates for those two months
suddenly decided not to get married.

Asked why—

“Buddha says to save all beings. Until all beings are liberated, how can I
abandon the countless souls of this world?”

“If I do not enter hell, who will?”

The Empire’s government: “???”

Couples who, under government persuasion and subsidies, had been planning to
have children suddenly decided not to continue preparing for pregnancy.

Asked why—

“Our past flesh was so filthy, our souls so greedy. We only decided to prepare
for pregnancy because of the government’s birth subsidies. How can such greedy
people like us pollute a pure new life?”

“We have decided to cleanse our souls and purify our bodies. Only when we are
truly ready to be parents will we have a child.”

“Take care of your own small family first, then you can take care of the larger
family. Amitabha.”

The Empire’s government: “…………?????”

The Birth Office, looking at the birth rate, which was already negative, finally
shed tears.

They mobilized en masse and earnestly sent private messages to Mo Bai and to
Xixi.

“Please, stop recording! Save the Empire’s child birth rate!”

“If you keep recording, the entire Empire will want to become monks!”

Xixi’s voice soon filled the living room.

Mo Bai listened intently, carefully discerning from Xixi’s singing whether he
had made any progress.

After all, this was the first time he had taught anyone to cultivate. That made
Xixi his… disciple, in a way?

Mo Bai’s full attention was on Xixi, so he didn’t notice that the tall man
sitting beside him, whose handsome face was usually expressionless, was now
showing a mix of emotions—furrowing his brow, looking awkward, then somewhat…
complicated.

When Xixi finished his song, the interstellar network stage erupted in
thunderous applause.

At the same time, dense bullet comments began flooding the screen.

Mermaids naturally sang beautifully. Especially Xixi—his voice carried a unique
cuteness and softness that completely captured people’s attention. They only
wanted to listen carefully to his song and do nothing else.

So after he finished singing, his true fans started flooding the comments.

“So beautiful! Truly number one!”

“Ahhhh how can Xixi be so soft and so adorable? I love him so much ahhh!”

“On my knees begging for a mermaid, to grow old together and never part!”

“Wait… have you noticed… this time when Xixi sang… it seemed to carry a soothing
power?”

“Damn, I didn’t notice. Is there any friend with a not-so-good consciousness
sea? Go listen to the recording or replay!”

“No need to listen to the replay. It really does carry soothing power!”

“How to put it… Before, listening to Xixi sing was just purely pleasant because
he’s a mermaid. Even though you couldn’t feel the soothing effect through the
screen, it still made you feel very comfortable.”

“But this time, Xixi actually used the soothing effect! Isn’t that just like Mo,
who sang The Great Compassion Mantra?”

Very soon, the news that the mermaid Xixi’s singing now had a soothing effect
exploded across the interstellar network.

Because there were too many videos of mermaids singing on the interstellar
network, but never one that carried a soothing effect.

A mermaid’s soothing special ability could only be used up close. Even from a
short distance it wasn’t as effective, let alone through a screen.

That was why when ‘Mo’s’ The Great Compassion Mantra first appeared, it had
caused such a sensation.

Because it was so unique.

Especially the fans of the second-place singer, and Xixi’s own fans—they had
been terrified that Mo would counterattack and take first place in the second
round.

When Mo withdrew, they had celebrated for a long time.

But now, Xixi’s fans weren’t worried anymore.

Their Xixi not only sang beautifully, but also had a soothing effect!

Mo also had an effect, but he didn’t sing well!

“Haha where is that Mo now? Good thing he withdrew, or the second round would
have been a toast to his defeat!”

“In my opinion, the only reason he counterattacked last time was because he
found a special trick. Our Xixi went to the auditions first and didn’t know you
could do this with a soothing special ability, so Mo beat him to it.”

“Exactly, exactly! Like I said, Mo was just being forward-looking.”

The fans who supported the mysterious Mr. Mo were furious with frustration.

But just as Xixi’s fans were celebrating across the entire interstellar network,
the singing competition host started interacting with Xixi.

Host: “Xixi, are you confident for this second round?”

Xixi said, “…Mm, I-I am.”

Host: “I just listened to you sing. It was really beautiful, and it made my
consciousness sea feel so comfortable. It seemed to have a consciousness sea
soothing effect.”

Xixi said, “Mm mm, Mr. Mo taught me.”

The host was stunned. “You mean, that ‘Mo’ who withdrew taught you?”

Xixi nodded, blushing, his eyes full of admiration. “Mm! He’s really, really
powerful! He taught me how to use my special ability!”

Xixi wanted to tell the whole world how amazing Mr. Mo was, but his common
language wasn’t particularly fluent yet, and he spoke hesitantly, which
frustrated him.

But everyone could see that he truly admired that Mr. Mo.

Instantly, the fans who supported Mo Bai also began celebrating.

“Did you hear that? Xixi’s singing now has a soothing special ability because
Mr. Mo taught him!”

“No wonder Mo withdrew. If he hadn’t, wouldn’t it have been a teacher versus
disciple showdown?”

Xixi’s fans fell silent, feeling a bit of a sting on their faces.

What could they say? Their own idol admired that Mo so much.

But some people noticed something strange.

“Is this Mo really that amazing? And he taught Xixi without holding anything
back…”

“Didn’t the Mermaid Association say Mo is also a mermaid? Xixi is recognized in
our empire as the most human-friendly mermaid, and his special ability is
probably in the top three, right? Mo is even stronger than Xixi!”

“Whoa, so does that mean Mo could be the king of the mermaid clan???”

At these words, the entire interstellar network was shocked.

The king of the mermaid clan!

And it was actually possible!

No one wanted to watch the rest of the competition. They either went to ask Xixi
whether Mo really was the mermaid king, or they joined the teams searching for
‘Mo.’

Upon hearing that Mo was very likely the king of the mermaid clan, the Mermaid
Association was also unsettled.

For so long, they had found no trace of ‘Mo.’ And now it was revealed that he
might be the mermaid king.

Mermaids were a very united race.

Now that they had a king, if he simply called out, rallying all the mermaids to
leave, there wouldn’t be a single mermaid who wouldn’t listen to him.

And when that day came, would the Mermaid Association still exist?

The Mermaid Association grew anxious.

“Still no trace of that ‘Mo’?”

“No! Everyone says he’s on the sanatorium planet, but we’ve turned the
sanatorium planet upside down and haven’t found him.”

“This mermaid king is more powerful than we imagined. Do you think he might have
discovered us…”

“Shut up! Keep searching. Track Xixi and see if he’s ever met this ‘Mo.'”

“Yes.”

In truth, tracking Xixi wasn’t so easy, after all, Admiral Kai wasn’t stupid.

But fortunately, they had other methods.

The interstellar network was buzzing with activity, but Mo Bai wasn’t interested
at all.

After Xixi finished his performance and left the stage, Mo Bai stopped watching.

He was very satisfied with Xixi’s progress. He had only taught Xixi to cultivate
not long ago, and he had already improved this much. Truly, a mermaid he kept
virtually was worth it!

Mo Bai stood up with satisfaction. When he turned around, he saw Wen Zhaoyan
still sitting there, his eyes flickering with some unclear thought.

Mo Bai poked his knee. “Are you spacing out?”

Wen Zhaoyan snapped back to reality, his expression somewhat complicated.
“Finished watching?”

Mo Bai nodded. “Finished.”

Wen Zhaoyan grunted in acknowledgment, put away his smart brain, turned off the
projection, and prepared to leave.

When he was sitting, it was fine—he and Mo Bai could see eye to eye.

But when he stood up, in the child’s eyes, he looked like a mountain.

He walked out in silence.

Mo Bai watched his heavy, burdened back, looking confused.

Why did Wen Zhaoyan seem a bit off?

Was his consciousness sea acting up again?

Come to think of it, the last time he had taken Wen Zhaoyan to soak in the
wishing well was a few days ago.

Hmm… he’d take him again tonight.

At night.

The night sky on the sanatorium planet was beautiful, but everyone was already
used to it.

The seasons and the starry sky, simulated using energy, repeated day after day
without any other changes.

Living there long enough, seeing the same scenery for so long, you’d naturally
grow tired of it.

Only Mo Bai could appreciate such a beautiful night sky.

He controlled his spirit to exit his body and floated over to the neighboring
estate.

Outside the estate, the butler was leading the guards in respectfully offering
incense to the Wish-Granting God.

Ever since the butler discovered that after worshipping the Wish-Granting God,
Wen Zhaoyan’s consciousness sea had begun to improve the next day, his nightly
ritual was to lead all the estate’s guards in burning incense and worshipping.

His Highness the Crown Prince had said ‘don’t let it happen again’ that day.

But the next day, he hadn’t told them to remove the incense burner either.

In the butler’s view, this was tacit approval.

But he still didn’t dare do it openly. He continued to worship secretly in the
middle of the night, afraid of giving others cause for gossip. After all, His
Highness the Crown Prince’s situation was still very precarious.

As soon as Mo Bai approached, the incense smoke from the burner automatically
drifted toward him.

Mo Bai took a drag, satisfied, then floated over the incense burner and went
straight to find Wen Zhaoyan.

The room was dark, without any light.

The man lay on the bed, his cold, sharp features not quite discernible in the
darkness.

Tormented by his consciousness sea, Wen Zhaoyan had never slept well. He rarely
entered a state of deep sleep.

But tonight was different.

In a daze, he saw a person walking toward him with a smile.

The youth had long sleeves and a wide robe, black hair reaching his waist. His
delicate features were like fine ink art, his smile faint, extremely
captivating.

Wen Zhaoyan watched him, his gaze following the youth’s every move, watching him
walk past.

Wen Zhaoyan called softly, “Mo Li.”

But the youth didn’t turn around. He walked straight ahead, going farther and
farther away.

Yet Wen Zhaoyan heard clearly, close to his ear—

“Why are you calling me?”

Wen Zhaoyan’s eyes snapped open. In the darkness, his pitch-black eyes met a
pair of clear, bright ones.

He was still in his room, in his familiar bed.

And the youth was sitting by the bed, looking at him with a strange expression.

The sanatorium planet had a comfortable environment. Although the planet was not
large, the four seasons simulated using energy were very precise and extremely
costly to maintain.

Therefore, many wealthy people sent family members with mental energy problems
here to recuperate, as it was more conducive to soothing their consciousness sea
issues.

At first glance, it actually sounded quite reasonable.

To outsiders, living on the sanatorium planet cost a tremendous amount of money.
It was a place for the rich to rest and recover.

There was the astronomical cost of the energy simulation, and the soothing
guarantee provided by the local Mermaid Association branch.

Anyone with consciousness sea problems would want to be sent there to
recuperate.

But in noble circles, this place was a prison.

It was far removed from all centers of politics and power. Once you entered, it
was like being admitted to a psychiatric hospital. You could only regard
yourself as a patient and couldn’t accomplish anything.

Yet this place, where nobles were unwilling to come and ordinary people couldn’t
afford to come, had attracted wave after wave of prying eyes.

Kai knew very well that these people were all looking for the second-place
contestant in the singing competition auditions, ‘Mo.’

That is, Li Chaoci.

In everyone’s eyes, an unregistered mermaid was an incredibly tempting prize.

For this reason, Kai had been very busy lately. Terrified that Li Chaoci might
actually be discovered, he paid close attention to everyone coming and going
from the Mo family, wondering if Li Chaoci would appear.

But the more people came to the sanatorium planet, the less anyone could find Li
Chaoci.

“The Third Prince hasn’t found him either?”

The Third Prince now wanted to find that mermaid more than anyone.

He was worried: what if this mermaid could soothe Wen Zhaoyan?

“No, Admiral.”

Kai was relieved.

These people were all searching in the wrong direction.

Everyone thought Li Chaoci was a mermaid, so they all searched in directions
associated with mermaids.

They didn’t know that he wasn’t a mermaid at all.

“Where do you think this Li Chaoci has gone?” Kai seemed to be talking to
himself, and also to Xixi.

Xixi tilted his head and shook it, indicating he didn’t know.

Kai said, “He’s not online now either. It seems he won’t log on again until the
second round of the singing competition. The second round is tomorrow, isn’t
it?”

Xixi nodded.

He continued fiddling with the incense burner and incense sticks in front of
him.

He had learned this from his owner, from that very scary person.

Kai found it amusing. “Does Xixi have some wish too?”

Xixi nodded emphatically. “Mm.”

Kai asked him, “What is your wish? You can tell me. Maybe I can grant it for
you.”

Xixi shook his head again, indicating that he could do it himself.

Kai didn’t press further. He never forced Xixi to do anything.

So when night came, and he said goodnight to the little mermaid and prepared to
sleep, the little mermaid didn’t sleep. Instead, he went outside by himself and
started burning incense to worship.

He was a little scared when lighting the incense, his little hands trembling,
but he managed to light it in the end.

Then he began to worship very seriously.

Kai, watching the little mermaid mimicking the butler and his group down to
every move, was dumbfounded. “Why didn’t you worship during the day? Why at
night?”

Xixi said very seriously, “Grandpa Butler said, worshipping at night is most
effective!”

Kai: “…”

No, the butler worshipped at night because he was afraid of His Highness the
Crown Prince.

It wasn’t that night time itself was the most effective.

But Xixi looked so hopeful and earnest, Kai didn’t want to discourage him. So he
accompanied the little mermaid in a few bows and prayed that the little
mermaid’s wish might come true.

Only after finishing did Xixi go to sleep contentedly.

He didn’t tell his owner that his wish was to see Mo Li.

Before falling asleep, Xixi thought, Grandpa Butler said they worshipped last
night and it worked the next day.

So would he be able to see Mo Li tomorrow too?

Then, as he drifted off in a daze, he felt like he had gone somewhere.

He looked up and saw a sky full of stars, so beautiful he couldn’t bear to look
away.

“Xixi.”

Just as he was gazing at the sky in fascination, a pleasant voice sounded.

Xixi quickly turned his head and saw an ancient-robed young man walking over
with a light, unhurried step. It was that ‘Mo.’

Xixi was overjoyed, a little shy. “M-Mr. Mo.”

Mo Bai said, “Just call me Mo Li. You were looking for me?”

After sensing the little mermaid’s wish, Mo Bai had come directly.

Xixi nodded, blushing.

Mo Bai asked, “Is there something you wanted to see me about?”

Xixi quickly said, “I… I want to learn from you. I also want… also want to treat
more people…”

Then he lowered his head, disappointed. “My singing, can’t.”

He couldn’t, like Mr. Mo, soothe people even through a screen.

He admired Mr. Mo so much.

His owner said Mr. Mo wasn’t a mermaid.

He didn’t believe that. He thought Mr. Mo must be a high-level mermaid.

Legend said that the king of their mermaid clan was an especially powerful
person. One word could quiet people, a wave of the hand could summon wind and
rain.

It must be someone like Mr. Mo.

Xixi truly loved humans.

Knowing that so many humans suffered from consciousness sea torment, he wanted
to become very powerful.

Seeing the little mermaid’s disappointed look, Mo Bai said gently, “Actually,
you can. You just don’t know how.”

Hearing this, Xixi’s eyes widened. “I can?”

Mo Bai said, “Of course. You mermaids are born with special abilities. With a
little cultivation, you can make your special abilities much stronger.”

“Cultivation?” Xixi didn’t understand. “What’s that?”

Mo Bai said, “I can teach you. But first, let me ask you: why do you like
staying at the Mermaid Association?”

Based on his observations over this period, Mo Bai felt that mermaids were quite
simple.

But the Mermaid Association was not so simple.

Xixi said seriously, “Mermaids are very dangerous outside.”

“That’s what the Mermaid Association told you.”

Xixi nodded, then shook his head. “Many people want to take us… dangerous. Also,
we can’t have children.”

Mo Bai frowned. “Can’t have children?”

Xixi drooped his head. “Mm… At the Association, they help us reproduce… Outside,
we can’t.”

This was also why Xixi wanted to repay more humans.

His kind were growing in number, all thanks to humans helping them reproduce and
nurture.

So he also wanted to help humans.

“Why can’t you have children outside?”

“They die. Or… they’re defective. Little Blue and Little Green, for example…”

Little Blue and Little Green were the two little mermaids Mo Bai was now
keeping.

The more Mo Bai listened, the more he felt something was off, but he couldn’t
quite put his finger on it.

Why would they die or be defective if born outside?

But not at the Mermaid Association?

How did the Mermaid Association help mermaids reproduce?

With these doubts in his heart, Mo Bai still advised Xixi not to trust the
Mermaid Association too much.

Xixi didn’t understand, yet he inexplicably trusted Mo Bai’s words. He nodded,
half comprehending.

At dawn.

Xixi rushed out to find Kai, his eyes full of surprise.

“I saw him!” Xixi said. “Mr. Mo… so effective!”

Kai was surprised. “You mean, you wished to see Mo Li, and you saw him?”

Xixi nodded emphatically. “Mm!”

Kai touched his head affectionately. “Silly child, you just woke up. You were
dreaming.”

He knew very well whether anyone had come last night.

Besides, the little mermaid had slept the whole night in the fish tank in his
room. Kai was certain the little mermaid had slept soundly. It was impossible he
had met anyone.

Xixi said, “Really!”

It wasn’t a dream!

Mr. Mo had said he would teach him to cultivate his special ability. When he
left, he had lightly touched Xixi’s head, and suddenly there was so much more in
Xixi’s mind.

That was what Mr. Mo had left for him.

He hadn’t understood it at first, but Mr. Mo said it didn’t matter if he didn’t
understand. Just read it carefully, read it many times, and eventually he would.

Kai didn’t have the heart to dampen the little mermaid’s happiness, so he went
along with it. “Yes, yes, indeed very effective.”

Xixi was satisfied. He immediately began, according to what was in his mind, to…
enter… enter meditation?

What Mo Bai had taught him was indeed a very simple meditation method. First, he
needed to try to sense the presence of spiritual energy.

The special abilities of mermaids was mostly focused on soothing.

When there was a mental energy surge, they would sing to soothe the raging
mental energy down.

But in Mo Bai’s view, this only treated the symptoms, not the cause. That
violent mental energy was still there, ready to erupt again at any moment.

So when it erupted, you had to soothe it. You could never eliminate it.

But if you refined that violent spiritual energy, it would be different.

There were two ways to refine it. One was to refine it within the other person’s
body. This method was more difficult.

The other was to absorb the spiritual energy into your own body and refine it
there. After refinement, it became your own spiritual energy.

This method was more suitable for little mermaids. They needed to cultivate,
needed to improve their special ability, and they needed spiritual energy to do
that.

Although that spiritual energy was violent, there was much more of it than the
spiritual energy floating between heaven and earth.

Mo Bai suspected it was the energy from energy stones. That energy stones was
probably something like spirit stones.

It was just that humans didn’t know how to strip away impurities. After using
it, they would become more and more violent… leading to consciousness sea
problems—the legendary going mad from martial arts.

Mermaids naturally had stronger mental energy. When they improved their special
ability, their mental energy perception would become even stronger.

Then, if they added that kind of mental power when singing, they would achieve
the same effect.

That was why he was teaching the little mermaids to first meditate and absorb.

And he had also taught this method to Little Blue and Little Green. Those two
defective little mermaids could now enter meditation on their own.

While many people searched the sanatorium planet for ‘Mo’ without success, the
second round of the singing competition finally began.

The top 200 contestants from the auditions could all advance.

The second round was a live competition, meaning every contestant could take the
stage.

And Mo Bai, who hadn’t been online for a long time, logged back into the
interstellar network.

As soon as he logged in, his inbox was flooded with messages.

The Mermaid Association, still sending him messages day after day, was blocked
one by one.

Mo Bai also saw that Xixi and Wen Zhaoyan had added him as a friend.

He accepted both.

And with his login, countless hackers immediately locked onto him, starting to
search for his IP address and location.

They quickly confirmed that he was still on the sanatorium planet.

Some hackers were very skilled. They hacked the minor protection system and
traced Mo Bai’s login location to the Mo family villa.

Wen Zhaoyan, who had just added him as a friend, immediately contacted him via
the interstellar network.

[Wen Zhaoyan: You’re at the Mo family villa?]

[Mo: So?]

[Wen Zhaoyan: Hackers traced your address.]

[Mo: It’s fine]

Wen Zhaoyan frowned slightly.

Had the young man really been at the Mo family villa all along?

If so, now everyone knew his whereabouts…

How could that be fine?

But soon, new posts appeared on the interstellar network.

‘Checked it. Can’t be the Mo family villa. Probably someone stealing their
wifi.’

‘Lmao, think about it. Would a real address be that easy to crack?’

‘Apart from the guards, servants, and the Mo couple, the Mo family only has
their son. He’s been dull since birth, they say. They’ve ruled out the
possibility of a mermaid being at the Mo family villa.’

‘Apparently, Mo Xiangtian even returned his adopted mermaid to the Mermaid
Association because of his simple son. If the Mo family had a mermaid, the
Association would definitely know.’

Reading these debunked messages, Wen Zhaoyan understood at once.

No wonder Mo Li said it was fine. It was because no one would believe he was at
the Mo family villa.

Mo Bai ignored all the interstellar network commotion and continued to surf the
web openly.

The more openly he used the Mo family’s network, the less the hackers believed
that ‘Mo’ was there.

And everyone coming and going from the Mo family villa had been carefully
checked. There was indeed no sign of ‘Mo.’

If he really were at the Mo family villa, once exposed, how could he be so calm?
He would probably have switched network domains by now, let alone have the
leisure to participate in the second round of the singing competition?

But he didn’t.

Thus, it only made people more suspicious.

The second round of the singing competition was live. The competition officially
began.

The audience stands were packed with people.

[Wen Zhaoyan: Where are you?]

[Mo: In a corner. I set my face to blurring treatment. No one recognizes me.]

[Mo: You came to watch the competition too?]

[Wen Zhaoyan: Mm. When are you performing?]

[Mo: I’m not performing.]

He had signed up initially just to see if The Great Compassion Mantra could
soothe.

Now that he had his answer, he was no longer interested in participating.

Sure enough, as soon as the competition started, the host announced the
contestants who had withdrawn from the second round.

Among them was ‘Mo.’

The interstellar network users were shocked.

No contestant in the top five had ever withdrawn. Making it into the top five
meant at least a few million in prize money. How could anyone withdraw?

But the happiest about Mo Bai’s withdrawal were Xixi’s fans and the fans of the
second-place singer.

‘He must have been scared! His singing is so bad. Who cares if it can soothe?
This is a singing competition. It’s about who sings well!’

‘Exactly. He must know he’s not good and would be eliminated later. To avoid
losing face, he just withdrew!’

‘Withdrawing now was smart. If he kept going round after round, he’d eventually
be pushed out. That would be even more embarrassing. Better to withdraw while
he’s still popular.’

Fans of the various contestants swarmed into the comments to attack.

But the fans who had come to love Mo Bai after being soothed by The Great
Compassion Mantra naturally wouldn’t take that lying down. They shot back,
saying that if Mo had continued, no one knew who would have taken first place!

In an instant, bullet comments flew everywhere. The entire venue was chaotic
with noise.

Finding it too noisy, Mo Bai muted all sound beyond a certain distance from him.

The moment he muted the distant noise, a deep male voice suddenly spoke beside
him. “Are you Mo Li?”

Mo Bai turned his head and saw a stranger standing behind him.

He had blurring treated his face to avoid being recognized. Logically, no one
should recognize him.

But although the man was asking, his expression was very certain.

Mo Bai looked the stranger up and down. He hadn’t seen him before, but most
people on the interstellar network changed their appearance.

So he opted to view the man’s profile.

All the man’s information was hidden, leaving only one piece visible: a name.

Li.

The moment the words left his mouth, a trembling, extremely terrified voice came
from behind him. “Y-Y-Your Highness, wh-who comes to find you at night…”

Wen Zhaoyan turned his head and saw the old butler standing not far from the
edge of the pool, holding a bath towel, his entire body shaking.

He had come to bring Wen Zhaoyan a towel.

His old eyes scanned the pool, looking everywhere, but he couldn’t see a single
person.

But Wen Zhaoyan’s words just now had clearly been directed at someone.

The butler’s legs went weak, and he nearly started crying. “Y-Your Highness,
th-there’s no one here, is there?”

At that moment, he didn’t know whether to be afraid that His Highness was having
another split personality episode, or afraid of some ethereal ghost.