Eren looked at the girl in front of him, eyes swollen, lips trembling, her entire posture on the edge of collapse. He extended his hand without changing expression.
She hesitated, but reached out and took it, her fingers trembling.
"Lǐ Xīrán," she whispered. "My name is Xīrán."
Eren smiled lightly. "A beautiful name."
He released her hand and returned to his seat, his eyes calm, expression unreadable.
"Then, you must already know why I called you here."
She gave a silent nod.
"Good," he said. "Then you also understand one truth, nothing in this world is free."
His voice, while gentle, cut through the air like a knife.
He leaned forward slightly and met her eyes.
"You don't want to miss the Academy over something as petty as a quota… do you?"
She stiffened. Her body tensed and she stepped back, lips trembling again. Her hands clenched at the sides of her skirt, and for a moment it seemed she might cry once more.
But Eren didn't stop.
"I'm willing to give you that quota," he said.
Then he paused.
He didn't speak further, letting the silence stretch.
Xīrán grew visibly anxious. Her breathing faltered, eyes darting—waiting for the price.
Then Eren continued, his voice quiet but firm.
"In return, I want you to join my organisation."
She blinked, confused. "Join?"
"Yes," he said as he rose from his chair and clasped his hands behind his back. He began pacing slowly, his tone steady. "An organisation. My organisation. One that exists in shadows, and moves without permission from any empire or sect but only me."
She remained still, watching him.
"I call it Black Lotus," Eren said, stopping mid-step. "It is made of people like you. Some seek revenge. Some desire destruction. Some aim for power. A few are simply mad. But all of them want more, and have nowhere else to go."
His voice became softer, darker, almost a whisper of devil.
"You'll have access to things not even Spirit Hall dares to distribute. Resources beyond what the Heaven Dou Empire gives its heirs. And we already have a Titled Douluo among our ranks."
That last line made her eyes widen.
"Titled… Douluo?" she repeated.
Eren frowned and tapped his forehead. Right. She's from a remote village. Probably never even seen a proper spirit master.
He explained, calmly and precisely. "When a spirit master reaches rank 90, they are considered a Titled Douluo. It's the highest rank in the soul level ranking, respected by all. Above that are only the Super Douluo and the Extreme Douluo, which are rare beyond counting."
Her jaw dropped slightly. Wonder mixed with raw hunger.
"Can I…" she hesitated. "Can I become a Titled Douluo too? Can I get strong enough to take revenge… for my sister?"
Eren's answer was immediate.
"Revenge is a minor thing," he said. "Once you reach that level, no one, not even the Heaven Dou Empire, will dare to stop you."
Then he extended his hand once more.
"Well, then. Will you join?"
There was no hesitation this time.
"Yes," Xīrán said. "If it gives me strength to take revenge… I'll serve the organisation for my whole life."
Eren nodded, satisfied.
"Good. Here is your Academy quota—Nuoding Academy has already been assigned. You will enter as a working student, but I'll handle your tuition and other expenses. You won't be wasting time on chores."
Her breath hitched. "You will pay for me…?"
"Consider it an investment," Eren said simply. "The organisation takes care of its own."
He handed her a folded slip of paper, created from his book just minutes before.
She accepted it with both hands, bowing slightly.
The first petal of Black Lotus has began to bloom now.
Eren had not yet realized that the girl he recruited would one day become a monster, an existence capable of shaking the future itself.
For now, she was only a broken child clinging to hope.
He began by teaching her the standard meditation technique used to absorb spirit energy, the same method he had learned from Su Yuntao alongside Tang San.
"Use this to cultivate," he said flatly. "Return in the evening. Your first resources from the organisation will be issued then."
Lǐ Xīrán nodded without question. She bowed once more, then walked out with the Academy quota held tightly in her hands.
Tears flowed again, but this time, not from despair.
They were tears of hope. A single thread of light had reached into the abyss to pull her back.
Eren closed the door.
He moved toward his bed and pressed two fingers against the frame. A faint shimmer passed through the wood, another phantom mark, hidden from sight but traceable at will.
He focused, calling to mind the mark he had placed earlier in his home in Holy Soul Village.
A faint ripple spread through his
consciousness.
In the next breath, he vanished.
His body reappeared in his bed back home, just as if he had never left.
He stepped out of the room and made himself visible to the villagers.
If he hadn't, Old Jack would have likely declared a crisis and turned the entire village inside out in panic. Better to avoid unnecessary noise.
Outside, a familiar sound reached his ears, the rhythm of hammer against metal.
Eren turned his head.
From the direction of Tang San's house, bright orange sparks flew as Tang San trained with the hammer. The strikes were sharp, timed, relentless.
The Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer Technique, a method designed to refine metal by forcefully expelling impurities. But its real value wasn't in forging.
It was in strengthening the body.
Each strike trained endurance, power, rhythm. Once fully mastered, it turned its user into a human weapon, deadly in close combat. One of the best DPS martial paths in recorded history.
Eren didn't stop to watch.
He simply wandered through the village, using the stroll to kill time. Some villagers nodded as he passed; others gave him a brief glance and returned to their work.
Tang San noticed him walking aimlessly and narrowed his eyes.
"Still wasting time," he thought. "He's already far behind. Only soul level 3, and he doesn't even train. Not that it matters, he's a support-type spirit master. He should be focusing on physical fitness just to survive."
He shook his head and returned to his hammering.
"No need to help someone useless. He's no threat to me."
Had Eren heard him, he might have replied loudly:
"Begging on the road is better than waiting for your help. At least that way, you're guaranteed to get something."
But he didn't hear it. Nor did he care.
When he returned to his house, he took out the gourmet tablecloth and summoned a light lunch—simple but filling. After eating, he brought out his book and pen.
The pen's light had not fully recovered, but it was still more than enough for a single request.
He began to write:
[There is a storage ring and a silver storage bracelet with over 1,000 cubic meters of space. The ring is designed in Akatsuki style, engraved with 希然. In my pocket, there is also a golden pill that raises soul level directly to level 10, and a sealed herb bundle intended for herbal baths to strengthen constitution.]
The character 希然—hope, was deliberate.
It would mark the ring as Lǐ Xīrán's alone which means hope same as xiran.
When the ink dried, he felt the familiar shift in his pocket. He reached in and retrieved the items.
They were exactly as described. The ring had a dark, cloud-patterned design with the silver engraving etched clearly on its surface. The bracelet was simple, elegant, efficient.
He left phantom marks on both for tracking purposes, then stored them back in his own ring.
He would hand them over in the evening.
His preparations complete, Eren lay down in his bed and closed his eyes for a short nap.