Chapter 13: Choose Your Own Path
"Eating a Nine-Square Grid hotpot has its rules."
While swishing meat in the broth, Li Shutong began to speak.
His mood hadn't been affected by the earlier episode at all.
"The middle square is for quick dips; just swish and eat."
"The four larger squares are for boiling food. The food needs to cook for a while but not too long."
"The four smaller squares in the corners are for simmering, suitable for long cooking."
It was evident that Li Shutong had quite the expertise in Nine-Square Grid hotpot culture.
Han Zhen thoughtfully stared at the hotpot in front of him and suddenly asked, "Teacher, then what about me? Am I 'quick dip,' 'boil,' or 'simmer'?"
Han Zhen wasn't a fool. Among the eight students following Li Shutong, each now managed one of the Eight District.
Now that he had become the ninth student, he couldn't believe it was meaningless.
Hearing Han Zhen's proactive question, Li Shutong burst out laughing.
"You? I don't know."
"Everyone has their own path. Your path should be chosen by yourself."
"No one can guarantee another person's future—not even me."
"My own path…" Han Zhen murmured, repeating the words to himself with a thoughtful expression.
"Damn it, where's the tripe I was cooking? And my beef!" Li Shutong stared at the now-empty hotpot, fuming with frustration.
Xia Youwei guiltily slid her bowl in front of Han Zhen, then calmly looked down, keeping an obedient posture. [T/N: Now that's what we say a good wife]
"??" Han Zhen noticed his bowl suddenly had an extra serving of tripe and beef, and his heart skipped a beat.
Without drawing attention, he covered his bowl with his hand, pretending to rest his head on it in deep thought.
At this moment, Han Zhen noticed the other senior brothers doing the exact same thing—covering their bowls with their hands and pretending to ponder something profound.
Han Zhen: "…"
'Respect for the teacher? Sure.'
"Senior Brother, why haven't your contract spirits—or, uh, your wives—shown up?" Han Zhen asked, attempting to ease the awkward atmosphere.
In truth, this was something he'd been curious about from the beginning.
Whether it was Li Shutong or the eight senior brothers, none of them had their contract spirits by their side.
However, from just the few moves Second Senior Brother Lin Jingxuan had shown earlier, it was clear they were far from ordinary.
How did they achieve this?
"I'll answer that for you," Lin Jingxuan said, smoothly taking over the conversation while subtly pressing down on his own bowl.
Earlier, he had taken the most food, and now it was almost spilling out of the bowl. He could only use this topic as cover.
"You two haven't consummated your relationship yet, have you?"
As soon as Lin Jingxuan said this, Han Zhen had no reaction, but Xia Youwei's face turned bright red. As she panicked, a warm hand enveloped hers.
Han Zhen, outwardly calm, secretly played these little tricks.
Xia Youwei's heart felt sweet, and her earlier nervousness vanished without a trace.
"After consummation, a contract master can partially replicate the abilities of their contract spirit," Lin Jingxuan continued, pretending not to notice anything. "However, the replicated abilities will always be weaker than when the contract spirit uses them directly. The degree of reduction depends on the compatibility between the master and the spirit."
"Since we're on the topic, let me add a bit more."
"Our contract spirits aren't here because they have more important tasks to handle."
"The battle forms of contract spirits are divided into two types: weapon form and human form."
"Wepaon form is what you see when contract masters and their spirits fight together. Human form is what they take when they fight independently."
"Right now, they are all in human form, holding their posts. That's the only reason we can afford to take a break and gather here. Without them, do you think we'd really be able to spare the time?"
Lin Jingxuan's explanation finally resolved the doubts that had been lingering in Han Zhen's mind.
Contract masters and their spirits could fight together or separately.
No wonder his Senior Brother had just handed him a pair of gauntlets directly. Enhancing a contract master's personal combat ability could greatly influence the battlefield.
As for replicating the contract spirit's abilities… well, that could only come naturally and would depend on the circumstances.
"Speaking of this, I have a question for you," Lin Jingxuan said, pausing for a moment. "What abilities does your SSS-level talent, Divine Revival, have? And is your contract spirit really just E-level?"
Not only Lin Jingxuan— everyone else put down their bowls and chopsticks, their curiosity about Han Zhen's and Xia Youwei's talents clearly piqued.
Since they were senior brothers—and moreover, immensely stronger than him—Han Zhen had nothing to hide. He directly explained both his and Xia Youwei's talents.
In truth, sharing this information also served another purpose: he hoped his senior brothers, with their extensive connections, could help him find other ancient divine weapons.
After listening, even these experienced Battle Zone leaders couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air.
Han Zhen's talent was simply too heaven-defying. If this talent matured, the heights it could reach were unimaginable.
Even their teacher, Li Shutong, couldn't compare.
"Don't tell anyone about your talent, except for us," Li Shutong instructed, then turned to Lin Jingxuan. "Jingxuan, use your Second District connections to set their information to the highest level of confidentiality."
'See, this is the advantage of having someone backing you up.'
Han Zhen sighed inwardly.
"Your talent allows you to form unlimited contracts with spirits, but I hope you'll restrain yourself."
"In this post-apocalyptic world overrun by insects, we must hold onto our principles."
Li Shutong's tone was one of genuine care, treating Han Zhen like his own child. He didn't want Han Zhen to abuse his terrifying talent and ultimately spiral out of control.
After listening carefully, Han Zhen nodded earnestly.
"Teacher, I understand."
"I won't form contracts with ordinary spirits. But because of my talent, if I encounter spirits with divine attributes, I won't miss the opportunity."
In his memories from his past life, there were ten ancient divine artifacts. Besides the Fuxi Qin Zither, there were nine others.
He wondered how many of them he would be able to contract in the end.
"Mm, it's good that you think this way."
"Alright, have you all finished eating? Once this meal is over, return to your respective territories."
Hearing Li Shutong's words, Wei Qing, Lin Jingxuan, and the others stood up one after another, respectfully bowing to their teacher to take their leave.
"Teacher, this year, the Grand Xia Dynasty has won nineteen consecutive battles against the Zerg, and morale is soaring."
"Teacher, we've reclaimed six territories this year, expanding the total land area of the Grand Xia by twenty percent."
"Teacher, we've made progress in uncovering the origins of the Zerg outbreak this year."
"Teacher…"
During the meal, they hadn't discussed work, so the leaders of each battle zone chose this moment to report their achievements to their teacher before departing.
"Teacher, the New Year is in three months. Let's all gather again in Deep Blue City then."
"Good, good, good." Listening to the encouraging updates, Li Shutong's smile grew wider.
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