Chapter 2: Showdown with Dad

(A month later...)

"Deep meditation done, controlling stars done, now the only thing left is to cast the spell," Xuan Kong muttered to himself before heading downstairs for breakfast.

"Hmm... it's indeed a tough choice. Should I go with the money routine, or should I focus on mental powers? With the former, I'm sure to become a Super Mage in ten years, but with the latter, I don't have a clue where to start, even though it comes with limitless potential."

"Morning, Dad! It's unexpected to see you here. Did you get promoted?" Xuan Kong acted surprised.

"No way, I can't tell Dad that I've already GPS tracked his phone, right?" Xuan Kong mused, seeing his dad calmly reading the newspaper with a wooden stick near the sofa. He could already tell he was going to have some trouble convincing his Dad.

"Ohh, nah. Your Uncle Mu Song got promoted to a High-Level Mage, and Boss Zhan Kong gave us a week off to celebrate his promotion," Xuan Senwei said, carefully eyeing his son, who had skipped school for three weeks straight. His face darkened when he thought about his comrades who laughed so hard when they learned about it.

"So, my rebellious son, mind explaining what you were so busy with that you didn't even bother to write an application to school about your planned leaves?" Xuan Kong lost his cool when he saw his dad already picking up the stick and constantly tapping it on the floor.

"Why are all Asian dads like this? Can't he even wait to listen to my excuses first?" Xuan Kong thought.

"Dad, DAD, please listen to me first. I have a very, very important reason for not attending school. Can't you let me explain before using that stick?" Xuan Kong got goosebumps when he saw the tapping getting faster and more rhythmic.

"Can't you see that I've always been ranked first and had almost full attendance in previous years? Why don't you put the stick away first!"

'No way in hell am I getting beaten up like this. I can accept getting beaten up in a Mage battle, but not here. Besides, it's been more than 30 years, including my previous life, if I get beaten by a stick.'

"Oh, I know this is the only reason you're talking, my son. Keep talking, boy, keep talking," Xuan Senwei's expression didn't change a bit. He never knew his top-performing son was so courageous. If he hadn't seen Xuan Kong's trembling lips, he might have suspected his son had been taken over by some evil Mage.

"Oh, Dad, it's like this. I've already passed university-level exams under a pen name 'Blank.' So you see, until I awaken my magic, school is useless to me. Why don't I look over the family business and learn more about magic books?" Xuan Kong said it all in one breath. When he felt his old man's patience reaching its limit, he didn't want to get beaten up for a stupid school.

"Oh, so you passed the University entrance exam and now think school is useless," Xuan Senwei looked like he was about to explode. Did his son just say he was an idiot for wasting his youth in school?

"Huh... You passed which exam?" 

"The university one..." Kong looked at his father, who had a question mark floating over his head, finally heaved a sigh of relief.

"Yes, I've already completed the high school course, so I don't think school is important, Dad. Why don't you send me some magic books, tricks, and star pattern scrolls so I can get a head start?" Kong knew it was important to strike while the iron was hot.

"Oh, okay? But you should still go to school. You should make friends. If you continue to stay home like this, you'll become a nerd," Kong was speechless, seeing his father still hell-bent on sending him to school, but he was not one to give up so easily.

(Two hours later...)

"Sh*t, boy, you will definitely grow into a black-hearted businessman," Xuan Senwei looked at his son in a new light. Although he still had a dark face, failing to convince his son to attend school regularly, he was very happy on the inside.

'In this dog-eat-dog magic world, having a black heart is very essential to not get ripped off.'

"Song Ji, it seems like our son will grow just fine," Xuan Senwei muttered, getting back into his stone-faced dad character and resumed reading Bo City Daily.

"Hah, sure, sure. Just make sure to talk to the school directors about my dummy attendance. Also, send me your Pearl Magic University student card. It will make it easier for me to get magic books with your card," Kong had a cheeky smile on his face. He got way more leeway than he expected.

"I can't believe it. Now I only need to attend final-year exams, and with the student card, I can easily get magic books from the black market." Kong though thinkig what to do with his free time.

"Yu Xin will deliver you Student card. Don't worry about school. I've got some imported wine that your one of your school director likes," Senwei assured his kid as he watched him get busy on his laptop.

"Sigh, kids these days."

(3 days later...)

"Hmm, nice. I've already seen the reports, but it won't hurt to hear the results from your mouth."

Xuan Kong is currently reviewing his monthly assets and gains he got from his investments. He used the old man's abandoned warehouse as his office space and training ground. In the basement room, he also set up his tech and servers.

"Let's start with Quan Li. What are the numbers?"

"Young Master Kong, it's really embarrassing. Why me first? Lin Wei made bigger profits too. Hmmph." Kong was amused with her; she really had talent with business. Unfortunately, she was not a mage.

"Currently, we have sold 2,543 duplicate techs with Micro Spy chips. Twenty-four of those were mage customers. The total net profit is 3 million, with an estimated inverted amount to be recovered in 8 months." Quan Li handed her tablet to Kong for detailed review.

"Huh, I see. This here, this here, uploaded." Kong uploaded this new data to his newly built simple AI.

"Magenet, keep track of new entries and mark mages as spy priority 3," Kong gave simple instructions to his AI.

"Now, Butler Yao, your turn." Kong turned his head to Yao Ming, a middle-aged person and a mid-tier Earth Mage Level 1, who is deeply indebted to the Xuan family as Old Man Senwei saved his life and provided funds for Yao's mother's treatment. Unfortunately, she passed away two years after that.

"Young Master Kong, from the mages I interacted with this month, only those three are worth investing in. Others are just hypocrites, white-eyed wolves, or difficult to control." Yao handed detailed information about two fire mages and one water mage he had taken note of.

"Hmm, nice. Let's focus on those three for this month and invest lightly, not exceeding 100K each. If possible, make them owe the Xuan family a favor. With their character, it will surely come in handy." Xuan also uploaded this information on MageNet and gave further instructions.

"So, what about the charity organization we set up? Any potential candidates?"

"Young Master Kong, here is a list of students who applied for part-time jobs. Well, there were 67 candidates, and I think we can poach these 13 students." Lin Wei handed a summarized report for those students.

"Hmm, pay for these 13 magic academy semester 1 fees. Don't forget the contract; they need to pay 10% of their future earnings after graduation if they awaken. If not, just 10% standard interest." Kong thought for a while and uploaded all 67 students' info to MageNet.

"Finally, here's the progress of the Loan Shark business. We have successfully loaned 37 million to a total of 26 mages. Loan papers worth 189 million were issued, and two loaners died from spirit wolf attacks. If they are unable to pay the loan amount after 5 months, we will gain 6 million worth of lands." Lin Wei explained the Loan Shark business report.

"*Whistle* Nice, now that's what I call a haul." Kong exclaimed; it was a better result than he had expected.

"Guys, it seems everything is going well. So, here's a 600K bonus. Today and tomorrow, you can have a day off. As for how you distribute the bonus amount, decide among yourselves and send me a copy on MageNet. The amount will be credited to your bank accounts." Kong exited the room, waving goodbye to his subordinates.

"I wonder if they'll fight for their share. It will be interesting to see how they resolve their differences. After all, I am not the one to intervene. Soon, new members will join, and they'll need to decide on their own how to handle this type of situation," Kong thought.