Wang Sheng Takes a Master, the Greatest Heroes

"Did... did he faint?"

Carefully approaching the unconscious Ke Zhen'e, Wang Sheng tentatively nudged his body and found that Ke Zhen'e still showed no sign of waking.

He had clearly fainted.

After looking at the unconscious Ke Zhen'e and hesitating for a while, Wang Sheng finally gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, and made up his mind.

He was going to take this unconscious Lord Soul Master home!

Though he came from an ordinary village family and had only mediocre talent, with just two levels of Innate Soul Power, he did not want to submit to fate.

If possible, he wanted to become a formidable Soul Master too!

But Wang Sheng also knew that for someone like him, with no background and no talent, achieving that dream would be difficult.

Yet today, he had encountered the greatest turning point of his life.

This unconscious Lord Soul Master before him had displayed such formidable strength without summoning his Martial Soul or using any Soul Skills. He was certainly no ordinary Soul Master!

Now, this Lord Soul Master had collapsed here.

If Wang Sheng could bring him home and respectfully attend to him until he woke up...

Perhaps afterward, he could take this Lord Soul Master as his master.

If he could learn from this Lord Soul Master how to wield great strength without summoning a Martial Soul or using Soul Skills...

Even though he had yet to become a Soul Master, he would no longer have to fear those hateful Noble Students who always bullied him at Notting Academy!

At that thought, Wang Sheng's heart surged with excitement.

Filled with fervor, Wang Sheng crouched down, helped the unconscious Ke Zhen'e up, hoisted him onto his back, and headed toward the village.

Though he had not fully grown yet, Wang Sheng was already a level-nine Soul Scholar. He was no ordinary person, and carrying an adult was effortless for him.

With Ke Zhen'e on his back, Wang Sheng struggled through the woods of the Back Mountain and finally returned home.

"Xiao Sheng, this is...?"

Seeing her son carrying someone home, Wang Sheng's Mother was immediately startled and at a loss.

But after Wang Sheng explained what had happened, his mother was overjoyed as well.

She understood that this concerned her son's future.

Wang Sheng's Mother hurriedly led her son inside, gave up the best master bedroom in the house, and laid the unconscious Ke Zhen'e on its bed.

Afterward, she even deliberately cut off a piece of the family's cured meat and prepared to cook a pot of cured meat porridge.

Evening soon arrived.

Only then did Ke Zhen'e, who had been unconscious on the bed, groggily open his eyes. Clutching his still-aching chest, he struggled to sit up.

But after sitting up and discovering that his blind cane was gone, Ke Zhen'e was instantly alarmed, as though facing a great enemy.

However, after feeling beneath himself and realizing he seemed to be lying on a bed, he recalled what had happened before losing consciousness and suddenly understood that someone had apparently saved him.

"You're awake?"

At that moment, hearing the movement, Wang Sheng, who had been keeping watch at the bedside and had nearly dozed off, finally jolted awake and spoke to Ke Zhen'e in delight.

"Kid, did you save me?"

Ke Zhen'e turned his black-cloth-covered eyes toward Wang Sheng and asked in a low voice.

"Actually, I didn't exactly save you. I just found you unconscious in the forest on the Back Mountain. I was worried you might run into danger, so I carried you back..."

Wang Sheng scratched his head somewhat sheepishly and gave an honest smile.

Ke Zhen'e neither confirmed nor denied Wang Sheng's answer.

But perhaps sensing Wang Sheng's goodwill, Ke Zhen'e visibly relaxed.

"Kid, where is my blind cane?"

Feeling around him and finding no sign of his ever-present blind cane, Ke Zhen'e frowned and asked Wang Sheng.

"Oh! You mean the wooden stick you were holding? It's here, it's here!"

Wang Sheng hurried to retrieve Ke Zhen'e's wooden cane from the corner and handed it to him.

After taking the cane, Ke Zhen'e prepared to get out of bed.

But the moment he stepped down and tried to support himself with the cane, Ke Zhen'e's face suddenly turned pale. His body went limp, and he nearly collapsed to the floor.

Fortunately, Wang Sheng hurriedly caught him in time. "Careful!"

With Wang Sheng's support, Ke Zhen'e sat back down on the bed. One hand gripped his blind cane while the other clutched his chest. He began coughing, spitting several mouthfuls of blood from the corner of his mouth.

"I must leave at once. I'm pursuing someone, but I failed to defeat him. If he discovers that I'm in your home, all of you could be in danger!"

Ke Zhen'e wiped the blood from his mouth and spoke gravely.

"Ah!"

Wang Sheng froze at those words.

Thinking of Chen Xuanfeng, who had fought Ke Zhen'e earlier, Wang Sheng's heart sank.

But gritting his teeth, he still decided to gamble on fate.

"Do you mean the person who fought you in the forest? I hid nearby and saw you two fighting. Didn't you drive him away in the end? He never came after us while I was carrying you home, so it should be fine. Don't worry!"

Wang Sheng took a deep breath and tried to reassure him.

But upon hearing Wang Sheng's words, Ke Zhen'e turned to look at him again. Though his eyes were covered by black cloth, Wang Sheng somehow still felt a meaningful gaze.

"Since you saw me fight him and still chose to save me, you must be seeking something. Speak. What do you want?"

After a moment of silence, Ke Zhen'e asked in a deep voice.

Wang Sheng had not expected Ke Zhen'e to be so direct.

Gritting his teeth, Wang Sheng took several steps back and bowed deeply to Ke Zhen'e.

"My lord, I wish to take you as my master!"

Wang Sheng declared loudly.

"Take me as your master?"

Ke Zhen'e could not help but laugh.

"Why do you wish to take me as your master? I, Ke Zhen'e, am known throughout the Jianghu as the Bat Hero. I always repay enmity with vengeance and kindness with gratitude. You saved me, so you have shown me kindness."

"But I, Ke Zhen'e, have requirements for accepting disciples. Not just anyone is qualified to take me as their master and become my disciple!"

Leaning on his blind cane, Ke Zhen'e rose to his feet. With his head held high, he spoke with great pride, then took several steps toward Wang Sheng and waited for his answer.

Hearing Ke Zhen'e's words, Wang Sheng immediately understood what he meant.

He could become his disciple, but only if he had a reason convincing enough for this Lord Soul Master!

As for what reason that would be...

Thinking of how the Noble Students had always bullied him at Notting Academy, Wang Sheng's eyes reddened. His voice choked as he began recounting what he had gone through.

"What! Outrageous! How can there be such pampered brats who bully others by abusing their power!"

Learning that Wang Sheng had long suffered bullying from a group of noble-born students at Notting Academy simply because he and the others came from villages, Ke Zhen'e flew into a rage and could not help shouting in rebuke.

After venting his anger, Ke Zhen'e regained his calm and nodded approvingly at how Wang Sheng had stood up for his companions and protected the weak in the Seventh Dormitory.

"But I never expected you to possess the spirit of a hero, willing to stand up for your younger companions who live with you. Good! Very good!"

"I, Ke Zhen'e, was born a commoner too. I was even once a beggar. Though I was fortunate enough to earn Gang Leader Qiao Feng's recognition and become the Gang Leader of the Beggar Gang."

"I will never forget those bitter days. The people I despise most in my life are those pampered young masters who abuse their power, along with corrupt officials."

"As the saying goes: the greatest heroes serve their country and their people. Though you are not serving the country, you are serving the people. You are qualified to become my, Ke Zhen'e's, disciple."

"So long as you maintain a kind heart, aid the suffering and support the weak, and put the principles of a great hero into practice, you will forever be my, Ke Zhen'e's, disciple. No matter what you do, I will support you."

"But if you dare commit evil, then do not blame me for turning ruthless. Not only will I disown you as my disciple, I may even cleanse the sect myself!"

By the end, Ke Zhen'e's tone carried a hint of sternness and a warning threat.