Walking on thin line

Yang Chen glanced downward to him with his mouth slightly opened; he repeated Ren Ying's question slowly in confusion, "Did you just say that you're not worthy of being my disciple?"

"Yes, I am indeed not worthy to be your disciple." Ren Ying stated in a shaky, fearless tone.

"Heh... if I say you're worthy, then you're worthy; its that simple." Yang Chen replied while holding both of his hands together behind his back.

"Cough... but senior, I only have a fifth-tier root bone." He coughed out blood slightly while keeping his mind unchanged, no matter what.

"OH, your root bone isn't a big matter; after all, root bone can be improved into a higher tier." Yang Chen flew down and patted Ren Ying on the shoulder.

Without waiting for Ren Ying to reply, Yang Chen's voice continued to surface: "Do you know why I considered you worthy of inheriting my stuff?" 

"Why?" Ren Ying questioned him while rolling his eyes secretly inside his mind.

"Its because we have the same attribute, thunder, which would make things easier for me to teach and pass on all of my skills to you.

Besides, you're talent for body training is not that bad, judging by your fight with the two-star Thunder Bat. This will help you achieve results faster when practicing my body tempering skill, Lightning Embrace." Yang Chen said in a calm and convincing tone while he gazed straight into Ren Ying's eyes.

'Seemed like i have some value for this old guy.' Ren Ying deduced based on Yang Chen words.

When he realized that the chance to survive without losing much was within his reach, Ren Ying slowly formed a plan inside his mind while acting as if his entire attention was on Yang Chen's speech.

Just when Yang Chen stopped talking to take a breath, Ren Ying's quiet voice sounded out, "Okay, I understand it, senior Yang Chen. But still, I am afraid to disappoint you after becoming your only disciple."

"So, why don't you watch over me for a year first before you take me in as your disciple?" Ren Ying suggested boldly while twisting his words carefully.

He didn't know much about the nature of the souls, as it was a mysterious thing, gatekept by others, making it extremely hard to come across this type of knowledge, especially for a weak cultivator like him.

So, Ren Ying's plan was to probe for more information about the Yang Chen soul first, to determine whether he still retained his peak wisdom or not.

While he was thinking, a voice emerged ahead of him, pulling him back to reality: "What you said makes sense." Yang Chen nodded his head in agreement.

"But I'm afraid I can't do that." Yang Chen replied in struggle.

"Why not? What if I let your inheritance go to waste after inheriting it?" Ren Ying didn't give up and kept on convincing him.

"That doesn't matte-" Yang Chen suddenly paused as he swallowed his saliva nervously and retwist his words, "Hmm, if it is the case, then I could only blame it on fate."

"Please reconsider it, senior. I don't want to disappoint you later on." He continued to persuade him while observing Yang Chen's expression.

Seeing that Yang Chen had a thoughtful expression on his face, Ren Ying suggested in a sincere tone, "What if, instead of signing this contract, you rechange everything and keep it simple, especially regarding my freedom?

He didn't dare to suggest avoiding signing the contract because Ren Ying couldn't guarantee its success rate due to the lack of knowledge regarding the soul aspect in this world.

What would happen if signing a contract was an instinct or rule engraved deeply into his soul by himself before dying? Ren Ying simply couldn't imagine the consequences of it.

Besides, he didn't want to raise Yang Chen's soul alertness yet, as it could potentially ruin his entire plan.

Yang Chen stood still in the air with his face resting on his finger without saying much, as he was lost in his thought.

When Ren Ying saw this, he knew that Yang Chen had fallen for his trap.

Knowing that the more Yang Chen thought, the less likely his plan would succeed, he raised his voice and asked Yang Chen immediately, "Isn't this a good idea? Only with freedom could one go farther into their cultivation journey!"

Yang Chen's eyes lit up while nodding his head as he answered Ren Ying surprisingly, "Hmm... you're absolutely right, kid. If I didn't have freedom to make my own choice back then, who knows how fast my journey would end?"

Yang Chen darted around the room, with his eyes brimming with nostalgia, ignoring the presence of Ren Ying.

A while later, Yang Chen spread his hand out to Ren Ying and said, "Okay, hand the contract over; I will rewrite it."

Ren Ying handed the contract back to Yang Chen politely with a smirk on his face, as he said with a hint of joyful tone, "Here, senior."

When the contract scroll reached the hand of Yang Chen, he asked Ren Ying curiously, "How do you want the contract to be like?"

"Well, I prefer a type of contract that encourages self-growth." Ren Ying responded as his eyes gazed up to the right, acting as if he were thinking about it. 

He breathed in slowly as his eyes flickered to the left side and continued sharing his idea, "Like advancing my ranking by signing a new contract after I fulfil a certain condition you set on the current contract within the set time."

"And only by advancing my ranking could I get the treatment that I deserved after proving my worth for it." 

After sharing this idea, Ren Ying turned silent and fixed his eyes carefully on Yang Chen to examine his expression.

Yang Chen clapped his hand slowly with his mouth opened slightly; he praised Ren Ying in a fast tone, "What an AMAZING idea! You're a genius, aren't you?"

Ren Ying bowed down humbly. He replied to Yang Chen with a slight smile on his face, "It's an honor to be seen as a genius by a senior."

"Hahaha, you're a bit good with your words, don't you?" Yang Chen complimented him yet again after hearing such a pleasant answer in his ears.

But, hearing another good word from Yang Chen, instead of feeling proud, he felt his back becoming colder as beads of sweat slid down, soaking a small section of cloth on his back.

'Did he see through my scheme?' Ren Ying thought nervously as he hurriedly thought of a backup strategy.

But fortunately Yang Chen ignored him and called out the two-star Thunder Bat without confronting him, "Dian Yi! Go get me an ink from our storage room."

Seeing that his scheme hadn't been exposed yet, Ren Ying sighs in relief.

On the other hand, when the two-star Thunder Bat heard its name called out by Yang Chen's voice, it squeaked and echoed from within the darkness, somewhere in the room, in response to Yang Chen.

A few minutes later, the figure of the two-star Thunder Bat emerged from the shadow, heading in his direction.

Ren Ying's face twitched, his eyes locked onto the beast with anger. Though he held back his emotion because of its identity.

Not that he could beat it anyway, but which man doesn't grudge?

He swore secretly that when the time came, he would let this playful beast know what a real fun game looked like.

Ren Ying watched the two-star Thunder Bat get closer to Yang Chen while it held the ink pen with one of its claws.

As soon as it arrived next to Yang Chen, it flapped its wing happily like a good pet, seeking a compliment from their owner for completing their assigned task.

Yang Chen understood its intention clearly; he patted its head lightly as he acknowledged the two-star Thunder Bat, "You did a good job, Dian Yi."

Hearing this, the two-star Thunder Bat stretched its wing out as it chipped softly, showing its obedience and loyalty to Yang Chen.

Yang Chen smiled faintly, and he proceeded to take the ink pen away from its sharp claw.

Once he took the ink pen into his hand, he turned to Ren Ying awkwardly and asked, "You don't hold grudges with my beast pet, right?"

'Not holding grudge? In your dream, old man.' Ren Ying thought with displeasure.

He hid his resentment deep within his mind; his expression showed an understanding look as he replied, "Ah... of course not, senior Yang Chen."

"It didn't do it just because it wanted to; besides, I'm the type who likes repaying kindness with greater kindness and repaying grudges with forgiveness." Ren Ying continued in a kind tone as if he were a saint itself.

"It's good that you have such a mindset." Yang Chen said with a satisfied grin fully blooming on his face.

Once he said that, Yang Chen became silent and redirected his focus on the contract.

He spread open the contract, and armed with his ink pen, he began to get busy with changing the rules and restrictions on the contract.

Ren Ying observed him quietly without uttering a single word out as he saw how concentrated and serious Yang Chen was with this matter.

...

...

...

A few hours later.

Yang Chen finally slid his ink pen onto his robe pocket, on his waist level.

He presented out the newly written contract to Ren Ying and announced excitedly, "It's finally done."