"Alright, I understand..." Xu Tiannan gently tapped the armrest of his wheelchair. After a long while, he slowly opened his eyes, returning to his previous gentle demeanor.
"Keep interacting, memorize any useful information, and pass it on to me at all times."
"Yes!"
Ju Zi sighed inwardly.
Keep interacting?
His Highness probably hasn't realized what kind of person Su Wen really is…
She had a feeling that, perhaps before long, she might not even be able to keep her heart in the Sun Moon Empire.
...
"Hello, Senior!"
"Senior Na Na!"
...
Na Na floated along, walking into the academy. Her face was cold, but inside she felt numb. Everything that happened last night felt like a dream.
The altar that had tormented her all her life, those sinister faces—last night, they were all frozen in shock, forever lost in a raging fire.
Her parents were finally freed from their shackles. The motivation that had pushed her to train so hard—being coerced and lured by the Holy Spirit Sect for her parents' sake—was suddenly gone.
After returning to her dorm last night, she lay awake in bed the whole night.
Such a great kindness—how could she possibly repay it?
Offer herself to him?
That's too cliché…
Besides, Su Wen is never short of beautiful women. Even the granddaughter of the Master of Mingde Hall, the esteemed Meng Hongchen, is always trying to get his attention. Maybe even if she stood naked before him, he wouldn't spare her a glance.
So what should she do?
Become his personal holy servant? Warm his bed, handle trivial matters? With her talents, she was nowhere near Su Wen's level, but as a servant, taking care of daily life—surely she was qualified...
She'd been living alone for years, so cleaning, laundry, and cooking were all things she was good at.
That settles it!
A flame of conviction reignited in Na Na's eyes.
She'd found a new direction to live for.
Her father always said one must be grateful. Su Wen had helped her so much—if she could be his holy servant, she'd be more than satisfied...
With that, she strode purposefully toward the cafeteria.
...
Cafeteria
Su Wen bit into a bun, feeling the surging soul power within him, quite satisfied.
Level 60!
Unfortunately, after refining that fat white bug, most of the boost was in his spiritual power, more than doubling the soul sea that had already been expanded by the Gold of Living Beings! This allowed his previously stuck soul tool array core carving to advance by leaps and bounds, even rivaling Xuan Ziwen. He'd reached the peak of level-8 soul tool mastery, touching the faint barrier of level-9 Soul Engineer.
Once he got the Evil Emperor, level-9 would be in the bag.
The spiritual boost was huge, the soul power boost was just one level, but that was enough.
The sixth pokéball was, naturally, the red ball, able to capture any soul beast under a million years old. The Evil Emperor he'd been longing for was eligible—he just had to wait for Gu Yuena to arrive, then head to the Demonic Forest to capture it.
"What a coincidence, you're here too?"
Meng Hongchen stood to the side, tucking a lock of silver hair behind her ear, her eyes crescent moons as she smiled at Su Wen.
"Mm."
Su Wen nodded slightly, indicating she should sit.
Every morning, like clockwork, this young lady would come by and say, "What a coincidence, you're here too," as if she were an NPC.
Is it really a coincidence?
Is it?!!
Meng Hongchen didn't feel awkward at all, arranging her meal, cradling her face as she smiled at Su Wen while nibbling her food.
But soon, this harmony was broken by an outsider.
"Su Wen, please become my master!"
Na Na's expression was resolute, her dark eyes reflecting Su Wen's dumbfounded face.
Beside them, Meng Hongchen froze, swallowing her food with an audible gulp.
"..."
The entire cafeteria fell silent.
Countless gazes turned their way, staring blankly at this sudden scene.
"Master?!!"
...
"Hmm? Care to explain?"
They went to the lab building. Su Wen spoke blandly.
"You've done me a great favor, and the only thing I can do for you is to become a proper maid—to help clean your clothes and such. If you don't trust me, you can even take a piece of my soul for safekeeping—I learned this from the Holy Spirit Sect. Of course, I've never used it for anything bad..." Na Na gripped her clothes, her face flushing.
Only now did she realize she might have been a bit impulsive.
She shouldn't have said that in public.
But she was stubborn—once she decided on something, she wouldn't change easily.
Su Wen clicked his tongue, somewhat helpless.
"I can tell if the Holy Spirit Sect folks have killed innocents—the more resentment, the more likely they've slaughtered the innocent. Last night, there were over a hundred people, but not a single good one—all had killed innocents. Only you managed to stay true to yourself, so I spared your life."
"But..."
Su Wen's tone grew heavier.
"I spared you because... ahem, because I wanted you to help me take revenge on the Holy Spirit Sect!"
"That doesn't stop me from being your holy servant!" Na Na replied firmly, her dark eyes fixed on Su Wen. "If I follow you, I can take revenge too!"
"..."
Su Wen's mouth twitched.
Why didn't you show this sharp tongue last night?
He tried to scare her off: "I have a weird temper. Being my servant isn't just about chores—you also have to warm my bed every day, and..."
"And what?" Na Na's eyes lit up.
"And..." Su Wen braced himself, making it up as he went, "And when I'm in a bad mood, I'll hang you up and whip you. I advise you to—"
"Sure!"
Na Na gave a sweet, blossoming smile.
She suddenly leaned closer to Su Wen: "Somehow, all of that sounds like a plus... I'm even more looking forward to it."
Su Wen: "..."
...
Inside the Laboratory
Xuan Ziwen strolled in with his hands behind his back, glanced at Su Wen reading, and smiled, "Congratulations, Su Wen, on getting yourself a maid. Aren't you going to show her off?"
Su Wen shot his meddling teacher a helpless look, feeling uncomfortable.
"Alright, Teacher Xuan, don't tease me. No matter how I tried to persuade her, she insisted on being my maid. What could I do?"
"You don't know how lucky you are!" Xuan Ziwen glared. "She's a great girl. I know Na Na—her martial soul is Ghost, her talent is top-notch among the sixth-year soul engineers. She might not be the best at making soul tools, but her martial soul makes her a key talent for the academy, and now you've snatched her away!"
"And even if you fool around, nobody cares, but making us part of your play is too much!"
Xuan Ziwen grumbled.
Su Wen: "..."
"Su Wen, would you mind taking another maid? I'm great at laundry, cooking, and bed-warming!" Ke Ke giggled, puffing out her ample chest.
"No, you're too short."
Su Wen replied coolly.
"At least Na Na's nearly 1.8 meters. You..."
"How dare you!!"
Ke Ke flew at him in mock anger, but Su Wen easily held her back by the head.
Ju Zi covered her mouth, giggling on the side.
Xuan Ziwen couldn't help but laugh either.
The lab filled with a cheerful atmosphere.
Soon, the topic shifted.
In this continent, it wasn't unusual for someone to pledge themselves to a master—after all, it was still a feudal society with plenty of slaves. The real reason for the commotion was Na Na's identity...
"Sigh, what are you all talking about, keeping secrets all day?" Ke Ke asked curiously.
"Metal forging combined with soul tool technology," Su Wen said openly, smiling.
"What, you want to be a blacksmith?"
"No way! I'd rather die!" Ke Ke's eyes widened with resistance. "Teacher Xuan, if you actually start this project, I'd rather jump out the window than accept it!"
Xuan Ziwen shook his head helplessly.
This was just the current state of the Sun Moon Empire.
It made sense. Being a blacksmith was always hard work, and the pay never matched the effort. A thousand years ago, things were better—no soul tool market, Zhuge God Crossbows and such were still useful. Now, though, things were at an all-time low.
So much effort, stinking of sweat, tanned and exhausted, yet the future was nowhere near as prestigious as a soul engineer. Of course, no one wanted in.
Unless...
Xuan Ziwen sighed.
If someone like Su Wen, with massive resources, high status, and enough dedication—like the Master of Mingde Hall—shouldered the burden, maybe the Sun Moon Empire could make some achievements here.
But...
He was a pure researcher.
The lure of the unknown was hard to resist...
So, when Su Wen extended his olive branch, Xuan Ziwen felt himself leaning ever so slightly toward Shrek Academy.
"Alright, you all keep studying. I'll go to the lab with Su Wen," Xuan Ziwen waved.
Ju Zi didn't care either.
No one took these grand projects seriously—just treated it as entertainment.
"Thousand-forged Heavy Silver seems ready for use in level-5 soul tools. According to yesterday's tests, its power is three times that of hundred-forged, over four times ordinary heavy silver," Xuan Ziwen mused as they walked.
"Obviously, after gaining spirit, the loss in soul tool array power is almost gone, even strengthened to some degree!"
"Clearly, hundred forging is about removing impurities, reducing array loss to nearly zero. Thousand forging adds spirit, which starts to enhance things..."
"As for alloy forging, let's move that up the schedule. Mixing metals may reveal the best types for ranged, melee, or elemental tools. Xiao Wen, we're starting a whole new discipline from scratch!"