The "Price" of the Chief Disciple

Luo Chen packed his things and, as agreed, went to the cafeteria to find his teacher, Meng Shenji. It happened to be mealtime, so the four of them set off together toward the dining hall.

Upon arriving at the cafeteria, Luo Chen headed to the second floor, where he saw Meng Shenji already waiting in front of a private room.

The table was laden with food, mostly spirit beast meat, though the portion was only enough for two.

"Little Chen, you're here. Sit." Meng Shenji gestured for Luo Chen to sit down and said, "Come, eat quickly. The food at Heaven Dou Royal Academy is the best of any academy on the continent. Try it; once you start your cultivation, your appetite will only grow."

Luo Chen sat down obediently, and Meng Shenji continued, "Little Chen, your martial soul is truly unique! One could say it is one of a kind in this world. A Gulu Ball—a strange name, but the ability to form contracts with spirit beasts is something I have never seen before."

"Teacher, the contracts my martial soul forms with spirit beasts are not guaranteed. During the process, the more injured the spirit beast is, the higher the success rate. Most importantly, my martial soul has multiple forms. Its ordinary form can establish contracts with common spirit beasts to assist me in battle. Every time I break through a realm, I gain a special Gulu Ball that allows me to capture a spirit beast directly and obtain its spirit ring and spirit skill!"

Meng Shenji asked, "So, you don't necessarily have to be breaking through a realm to capture a spirit beast?"

"That's right, Teacher. If I'm lucky... perhaps I can make many powerful spirit beasts serve me!"

"Are there any restrictions on the spirit beasts, such as attribute requirements? Like needing them all to be of the mental type, or something else?"

Luo Chen shook his head. "No. Aside from the spirit beasts that provide my spirit rings, no other spirit beasts' attributes affect me. In fact, the more varied their types, the better, as it allows me to handle various unexpected situations."

Meng Shenji slapped the table in approval. "A miraculous martial soul! Little Chen, just tell me what spirit beasts you need, and when the opportunity arises, I will take you to capture them so you can grow rapidly!"

He then produced a ring and handed it to Luo Chen. "Little Chen, since you have taken me as your master, I must naturally give you a gift. This Nightmare Ring was something I obtained by chance; it is a storage spirit tool with a capacity of 100 cubic meters. It is yours today."

Luo Chen took the ring and thanked him repeatedly. It turned out that getting good things for taking on a master was true after all.

Meng Shenji urged Luo Chen to open it and take a look. Luo Chen channeled his mental power into the Nightmare Ring, finding several items neatly arranged inside.

"Inside are clothes and daily necessities prepared for you, as well as some items for nourishing mental power that I have collected over the years. From today on, you are my personal disciple!"

Luo Chen was deeply moved. He hadn't expected Meng Shenji to treat him so well; he had assumed it was merely a mutual utilization, with Meng Shenji only courting him after seeing the potential of his martial soul.

Yet, looking at Meng Shenji's expression now, it didn't seem like an act, but a genuine outpouring of emotion.

He could not have known how happy Meng Shenji, who had no successor, was to find such a talented and obedient student. He had aspired to cultivate talent for the Empire, but many noble youths relied on their status and talent to avoid hard work. Thus, he wanted to take a gamble and cultivate a true pillar of the Empire—a pillar who could become an army unto himself!

Luo Chen was unaware of this at the moment, as he heard the voice of the Evil Emperor echoing in his mind.

"Kid, inside this ring of yours is the origin of my Evil Eye Clan. If you use it for cultivation, you will surely reach a higher level."

"The origin of the Evil Eye Clan?"

"It is the remains left behind by a ten-thousand-year Evil Eye Tyrant who failed its tribulation. You might be able to refine it into a third eye on your forehead. Unlike the innate true eye of a spirit bone, I can assist you with this."

Luo Chen was half-skeptical. He believed it could be refined into a true eye, but his current strength was insufficient. If the soul impact caused severe damage to his mental power and the Evil Emperor took advantage of his vulnerability, that would be troublesome.

"I understand. We shall discuss it later."

With that, Luo Chen ignored him and continued his conversation with Meng Shenji.

"Hey! Kid, don't you want to become stronger? Don't you want to quickly become a top-tier powerhouse..."

Luo Chen temporarily cut off their mental connection. Meng Shenji continued, "Inside the ring, there is also a small manual on mental power cultivation. I obtained it by chance as well. My talent was insufficient to master it completely, but I still benefited greatly. Your talent is higher than mine, so you should be able to comprehend it. I believe it will shine brightly in your hands."

"Hmph, a flashy cultivation method, though it suits you well enough," the Evil Emperor chimed in once more.

"Thank you, Teacher," Luo Chen said.

Finally, Meng Shenji handed Luo Chen a token with the character "Meng" engraved on it.

"You may use this token to find me in the future. After class every day, you may come to my private cultivation room. Both of us cultivate mental power; perhaps you will have extra gains in my room."

"Thank you, Teacher."

After bidding farewell to Meng Shenji, Luo Chen ran into his three roommates who had just finished eating, and the four of them returned to the dormitory together.

The day passed quickly. The Shi brothers had already laid down, and Luo Chen and Su Heng went to wash up together.

Taking advantage of the lack of people, Su Heng asked in a low voice, "I heard you were taken as a personal disciple by the Chief?"

Luo Chen replied, "How did you know?"

"It's spread throughout the entire school now, including the intermediate and advanced departments. I hear many people are quite jealous!" Su Heng said jokingly.

Luo Chen was well aware of this. Being a commoner who had broken the rules to enter Heaven Dou Royal Academy was already shocking enough, but for the Chief of the Education Committee to personally welcome him and take him as a disciple only fueled the envy.

As they spoke, their eyes met, and Luo Chen clearly saw a complex and profound look in Su Heng's eyes.

It seems this person is not simple, Luo Chen thought to himself.

Su Heng then said, "Be careful with everything. There will surely be more and more people targeting you."

"Thanks for the warning."

Though they had only just met, there was a strange rapport between them, as if it were destiny.

"Kid, that boy just now is also unusual. His martial soul seems to contain a trace of divine beast bloodline, yet it also seems somewhat incomplete."

The Evil Emperor's voice emerged automatically. The current Evil Emperor was like a system, reminding Luo Chen from time to time.

Luo Chen was quite happy about it; who wouldn't want an "old grandfather" figure?

The night passed without incident.

Early the next morning, Luo Chen rose to go for a morning run, then bought some breakfast to eat back at the dormitory.

Su Heng was the second to wake, Shi Mo the third, and Shi Mo was the last to stir. The four of them hurriedly washed up and rushed toward the teaching building.

They finally stepped through the classroom doors at the very last second before the bell rang, taking the four seats in the back row.

The classroom door opened, and everyone instantly fell silent.

"Thump, thump, thump." Footsteps approached, and everyone looked toward the door.