Turning his body around to face away from Ye Yin Zhu, Fergusonâs eyes displayed a crafty light. As if indifferent, he said, âThere is only one option. All in all, you are still a student of the inst.i.tute. I do not want you to be considered a heretic by the Blue Dias Seven PaG.o.da. At present, there is only one road you can walk. You must pay your respects to me as your master. This way, I can claim to have previously presented you with magic equipment that concealed your rank, thereby helping you resolve this matter. Do you understand?â
âEh? Pay my respects to you as my master? But, I already have a master. Iâm afraid this is out of the question.â
Ferguson said, âThen Iâm afraid my hands are tied. I can only deliver you to the Blue Dias Seven PaG.o.da. Only, did your teacher stipulate that you can only have him as your master?â
Ye Yin Zhu shook his head and replied, âThis didnât occur, butâŚâ
âSince he didnât, what is there for you to hesitate about? I have studied Spiritual Magic my whole life, yet I still havenât had a single disciple to this day. Rest rea.s.sured; I will impart upon you teachings that will in no way clash with what your teacher had taught you. Divine Music Magic is a branch of Spiritual Magic. If your teacher asks you in the future, I can help you resolve the issue.â
At this moment, Ye Yin Zhu couldnât help but recall what Nina had told him that day and probingly asked, âIf I call you teacher, I wonât need to call you master, right?â
Ferguson was amused at Ye Yin Zhuâs self-deceptive way of speaking. âYes; it depends on you.â He couldnât help but lament in his heart, âI donât know how many people of royalty and n.o.bility within Milan have sent me a child to accept as a disciple, all of which I rejected. This boy is actually discussing prerequisites.â
âTeacher.â Ye Yin Zhu very naively bowed towards Ferguson. His pure character made him perceive Ferguson as benevolent. Such a benevolence produced amiable feelings without any menace. In addition, Nina had warned him beforehand, which made him no longer hesitant.
âGood. From now on, you are my sole disciple. If my deductions are accurate, you used a Contract Summoning today, and that should be your magical beast partner. Do you know his origins?â
âMagical beast? No, Zi isnât a magical beast. He is my friend, my dear friend,â Ye Yin Zhu hurriedly explained.
Fergusonâs expression s.h.i.+fted. âSo youâre saying that ever since you knew him, he has appeared as a human? When did you roughly meet him?
Ye Yin Zhu answered, âTen years ago. At that time, I was six years old and Zi had appeared while I was practicing with my zither. Afterwards, he would come listen to me play every day. He was my sole friend before coming here to Milan. For ten years, we hadnât ever separated.â
Listening to him, Ferguson couldnât help but furrow his brows deeply. Ye Yin Zhuâs explanation had already exceeded the scope of his knowledge. âWhatâs this Equal Contract between you two about? I have previously seen an introduction of an Equal Summon Contract in ancient texts. Instead, this appears to be an Equal Life Contract. Essentially, your lives and souls are tied together as one. Were you aware of this?â
Ye Yin Zhu nodded his head. âI know! Zi is my dear friend. He canât come to college with me, though. Zi said that we can frequently see each other with this contract. Thus, we agreed and signed this contract.â
Ferguson faked a smile and said, âBut this contract also prevents you from possessing a magical beast. Furthermore, donât tell me that you didnât want to know where that Zi learned this contract from?â
Ye Yin Zhu simply replied, âI trust Zi.â
Looking at Ye Yin Zhuâs resolute and unyielding gaze, Ferguson was silent. This disciple had the kind of character he was naturally satisfied with. He felt, however, that Zi was not simple. No dou qi, no magic, simply relying only on brute force to actually stop a Green Rank Gigantic Dragon cavalrymanâs all-out attack⌠this kind of power had never before been seen in a human.
The Equal Life Contract of legend was originally a marriage contract. Only when the affection of both husband and wife had become stronger than even blood ties would they give up the power of a magical beast and agree to sign such a contract in order to always be able to see the other person. It was abnormal.
That Zi was in no way human, making it impossible for Ferguson to use his spiritual force to determine the abnormality. Although there was no difference between Ziâs outward appearance and a humanâs, he didnât have a humanâs aura. If he was a magical beast, then what magical beast possessed such powerful physical strength and the ability to transform into a human form? Contemplating the issues, Ferguson couldnât help but get a headache.
âWell. Yin Zhu, you should go back now. Rest properly in preparation for the final match. I will reflect on this and decide how to impart my Spiritual Magic knowledge to you. Go back and donât forget what I have told you just now. If someone asks, tell him that Iâd given you magic equipment that had concealed your genuine strength. As for everything else, I can settle them on your behalf.â
âOkay, thank you, teacher.â Ye Yin Zhu gratefully bid farewell to Ferguson with the intention of leaving, but Ferguson called out for him to halt.
âWait a moment. Yin Zhu, I have something I must tell you. Once this Freshman Compet.i.tion finishes, the college will organize its first real combat drill. Itâs completely unlike the match styles of the compet.i.tion. Instead, it is a genuine battlefield. When that moment comes, when every division chooses their most outstanding students to partic.i.p.ate, I want you to join. Battle experience often makes a person mature quickly. At that time, the college will inform the individuals of the specific details.â
âOkay. I will listen to teacher.â Complying with the collegeâs arrangements, Ye Yin Zhu simply a.s.sumed there wouldnât be too many questions, including why no suspicions of war on the peaceful mainland have emerged.
Looking at Ye Yin Zhuâs departing back, Ferguson allowed his smile to flood his face. Within his heart, he secretly thought, âHe doesnât consider this to be a threat and promise? Such a good disciple; Iâm afraid that I canât find a second one anywhere on the continent. Simple and pure in temperament as well as simple and pure spiritual force and dou qi; in addition, he also gave the Divine Music division a miracle and has an Equal Life Summoning Contract. All of this can only be represented with one word: genius. Not only that, but a flawless genius.â
After watching a few of Ye Yin Zhuâs matches, Ferguson had concocted his plan. As the compet.i.tion continued, Ye Yin Zhu had given him more and more wonderful surprises. Heâd hesitated up until today, when Ye Yin Zhuâs magic had suddenly broken through to the Yellow Rank. He exploited this good opportunity to semi-force the acceptance of this disciple and vaguely sensed in his heart that not far off into the future, Ye Yin Zhu would inevitably become a nova in the mage circles on this continent.
Ye Yin Zhu had just left Fergusonâs residential area before he suddenly came across Sura. Sura seemed to be waiting here for him. Upon seeing him come out, Sura hastily walked up to him and urgently asked, âYin Zhu, what did the President seek you out for? Was it about you skipping a rank? Youâre also extremely reckless; how did this issue crop up? Donât you know that this is very dangerous for you? Oh! In the end, was it about how you cultivate?â
Ye Yin Zhu was somewhat fl.u.s.tered by Suraâs series of questions. âSura, speak slowly, and donât worry! It was none of those topics. Just now, teacher helped me think of a good solution.â
At that moment, he explained the entirety of his discussion with Ferguson to Sura. In the inst.i.tution, Ye Yin Zhu only highly trusted two people: Nina and Sura. Apart from secrets pertaining to the Zither Sect or Bamboo Sect, he didnât feel the need to conceal anything from them.
âNot bad, not bad. Youâve truly scared me to death.â Sura patted his chest. âWho was that individual you summoned today? When I was watching Nesta and his dragon charge at you in the sky, I was really frightened. The President also didnât block him. Fortunately, you had a way to deal with it.â