Insufficient balance

  I gently stroked Xiaojin, and suddenly I felt a big bulge on his body. I quickly asked Xiaojin (telepathically), "What's this?" Xiaojin replied that he didn't know either, and it wasn't just one place where this was happening.

  I hastily extricated myself from Xiaojin's embrace and observed carefully.

  It's true, under its belly there are five small protrusions, as if there were bones about to come out. The two outer golden stripes on the back also grew a piece of something upwards, but it's not very obvious yet. What is this? Is Little Jin not a snake after all???? I won't do, I have to ask Teacher Di.

  Then played with little gold for a while, and when it was almost daylight, I put it away.

  Xiao Jin's progress is huge, I can feel the strength of its magic. Not only that, but Xiao Jin seems to have undergone some unknown special changes, which have also enhanced some of its special abilities. As for what they are, even it itself doesn't know. Moreover, compared to before, it gives me a feeling closely related to me, as if we two are just two parts of an integral whole.

  It's broad daylight now, and Teacher Di has arrived.

  "How was your rest yesterday, Chang Gong?" asked Teacher Di casually, putting down what he had in his hand.

  "It's okay." Delicious, too good, I'll eat. Not paying attention to Teacher Liwei, I immediately plunged into the ocean of food.

  "Teacher Di, the thing you brought is delicious! Why aren't you saying anything?"

  "Hmph, you little brat, always getting away with things." Teacher Di let out a discontented voice.

  "Don't say that, I'm also quite talented in learning magic, right?" I started using the spoiled child strategy. (I'm still a kid, after all)

  "Alright, stop boasting. Whether or not you have magical talent will be seen in your performance today. Time is limited, only seven days. I hope you can learn some useful magic within these seven days. You must take it seriously."

  Seeing him turn serious, I didn't dare to fool around anymore, "Yes, teacher."

  "It's been a long time since you've gone out, let's take a stroll on the lawn outside."

  "Oh."

  It feels so comfortable, I haven't breathed in such fresh air for a long time. I stretched my waist and greedily took a deep breath. Although the sunlight outside is a bit dazzling, it really feels great. Teacher Di didn't care about me either, letting me move around freely until I calmed down.

  "Alright, let's get started. First, I'll teach you the theory of advanced magic. Do you know how to use magic at my level?"

  "Isn't the way of using magic different for each level? Using magic is just about chanting and releasing, what's so special about it?"

  "Look, this is real magic." With a casual wave of his hand, a white light shot out and sliced through the air like a sharp blade, striking a huge boulder in front of him. The corner of the boulder fell off.

  "Wow, is this magic????? No chanting, just a casual wave of the hand and such an effect. Di Laoshi, how did you do it?"

  "Haha, this is the true power of a mage. When magic reaches my level, understanding of magical elements becomes extremely clear. So, as long as I think about how to manipulate the elements, it can be done. My previous move and the warrior's Dou Qi Slash are somewhat similar, aren't they? Actually, when magic and Dou Qi reach a certain point, there are many commonalities between them. You should study hard and practice more, striving to master this method of directly using elements before graduating from the academy. Today, we're not learning about that because it's not something that can be accomplished overnight; it requires long-term practice to achieve. For now, it's more important for you to learn some advanced light-based attack and defense magic. We'll focus on practicing elemental control after the competition."

  "Teacher Di, you're so powerful! I didn't know magic could be used like that." I gazed at him with admiring eyes.

  "Of course I am! I'm a mage, after all! Enough idle chatter, let's get started on learning our first spell..."

  ……

  The seven days passed quickly, and I learned a lot from Teacher Di, especially in controlling magic. With the support of my strong magical powers, my control over magic has made significant progress, and the golden ball inside me has also stabilized somewhat.

  I asked Teacher Di about the changes on Xiao Jin's body, he thought for a long time before telling me that he had never seen such a phantom beast either, it might be because I used life-sharing magic and mutated, but there shouldn't be any impact.

  I'm relieved now, as long as Little Jin is living well, I don't care what form it takes.

  Within these seven days, I also received some good news. Teacher Di said that Marc was accepted as a direct disciple by the Deputy Dean 20 days ago. This time, we two have become the dual geniuses of the Academy. You should know that the Deputy Dean is also a magic guide.

  Tomorrow, I will be back among everyone. Teacher Di reminded me again today before leaving that I shouldn't tell anyone that Little Jin is not dead and also not to say that he accepted me as his apprentice. Teacher Di is indeed a kind and interesting old man. His teaching method is very simple, either giving you inspiration to think for yourself or telling you the incantation to experiment on your own, very free-spirited. Considering his age, he could be my grandfather by now, but sometimes he also acts like a child with me. I found that I have already grown fond of this interesting old man.

  ……

  As I walked into the classroom, everyone stared at me in surprise. I didn't say anything and went to sit down at my own seat.

  "Boss!" A familiar voice came from beside his ear.

  "Mark." I turned around, staring at my long-unseen good friend.

  We gazed at each other and then hugged tightly together.

  Mark whispered in my ear: "Boss, I know everything about you now. This time we must win the competition!"

  "Good, you too."

  The bell for class rang and everyone returned to their seats. Today's announcement was about the rules of this semester's final exam.

  Tomorrow's preliminary match is about to begin, and thinking of Coach Di's goal for me makes my head ache.