After Jess took Reston around Dragon Country University, it was almost noon. They went to the cafeteria together, where all the food was infused with spiritual energy—after all, students needed proper nourishment.
As usual, Reston grabbed a few carrots. When Jess finished getting lunch, they sat down together at a nearby table. Reston lowered his head and quietly munched on his carrot, while Jess ate his lunch and chatted with him, mentioning that he had already reached Martial Warrior Stage 3. Reston was surprised; he had thought Jess's talent was already outstanding, but clearly it was even higher—he had reached Stage 3 in just a month and a half!
But at this moment—
"Hm? Jess, didn't expect to see you here. Heh, is this your little girlfriend? She looks pretty delicate. How about sharing her? How much to buy her? I can name the right price! Hahaha!"
A ruffian appeared, holding a woman by the waist, swaggering over to their table.
Hearing this, Jess was about to use his profession skill to strike, but Reston stopped him. Reston bit his carrot in half, set it aside on Jess's tray, then suddenly blasted a punch into the ruffian's jaw. Ever since learning how terrifying his strength truly was, Reston had grown less restrained. After all, his current physical power was at a level even a Martial Lord Stage 4 body might not reach!
"Reston…" Jess was stunned. That guy was a Martial King Stage 6! Two years older than him—and yet he got sent flying with a single punch?
"You dare hit me?!" the ruffian was dumbfounded. How could he be sent flying with one punch?
"Of course I hit you! Who told you to run your filthy mouth!" Reston snapped. Calling me Jess's girlfriend was one thing, but treating me like some commodity to be bought? Unforgivable!
Reston summoned the Skyrend Blade, while the ruffian also drew a knife from his back, ready to fight. But then—
"Stop!" A man in his early fifties suddenly appeared beside them.
"Teacher?! Why are you here?" Jess exclaimed in shock.
Teacher? Reston thought. So this was Jess's instructor?
The ruffian instantly turned pale, terrified.
"P-Professor Shen… Why are you here?" he stammered. This professor was a veteran from the Extraterritorial Battlefield, whose strength had never declined—he was none other than the **Sky-Scorning Martial Emperor** himself!
"Teacher! This guy harassed my friend the moment he showed up, even called him a commodity to buy. How should we deal with him?" Jess demanded, He knew very well just how protective his teacher was of his own students.
"How dare you! You! You're expelled immediately!" Professor Shen said directly to the ruffian.
"No! Professor Shen, I know your word carries weight, but expulsion? My family will kill me…" the ruffian begged desperately.
"Do you want to walk out yourself, or shall I send you out?" Shen's sharp gaze bore down, making the ruffian feel crushed under the pressure.
"Damn it… I'll fight you with everything I've got!" The ruffian, less than two meters from Reston, suddenly charged forward, clearly ready to go all out. Shen was about to intercept when—
"Thunder Dragon!" Reston roared, slashing with his blade. The blade aura, infused with lightning, transformed into a tangible dragon and charged straight at Lufian. Caught unprepared, he was blasted straight through the ceiling, vanishing without a trace.
Jess's jaw nearly hit the floor. How was Reston this strong?! Weren't they supposed to grow together? Now Jess felt utterly crushed.
Professor Shen, too, was astonished. His spiritual sense had only detected Reston as a Martial Warrior Stage 6—yet he had just one-shot a Martial King Stage 6!
"Professor Shen, hello! I'm Jess's friend," Reston greeted quickly before Shen could speak. Shen immediately grasped his hand.
"An honor! As you can see, I'm Jess's teacher. Would you be willing to take his place and become my student?" Shen said, barely containing his excitement.
"Teacher! That's not fair!" Jess protested anxiously.
"Silence, you unworthy disciple! He's your age—why can't you send someone flying with one punch like he can? Back when I was his age, I could punch Martial Kings into the sky too!" Shen scolded furiously.
"Uh… Sorry, Professor Shen, but I already belong to the military district. I'm under Instructor Lin Shuheng." Reston explained.
"Lin Shuheng? Oh, that brat… Tch, what a shame. Didn't expect him to get this lucky." Shen muttered, then added darkly, "Maybe I should pressure him a bit…"
"Teacher! Reston is already the Commander-in-Chief's treasure. You can't touch him!" Jess interrupted quickly.
"Hm? The Commander-in-Chief? So this kid's background is that big… Fine, I'll give the Dragon Martial God some face." Shen conceded.
"But since you've been harmed here at our school, I can't just let it slide. Take this." Shen handed Reston an item.
"Teacher! Weren't you saving that for me?!" Jess cried.
"Shut up! If you're not Stage 5 by next week, don't even call yourself my disciple!" Shen snapped.
"Professor Shen, what is this?" Reston asked, holding the pitch-black object curiously.
"This is the Innate Spirit-Gathering elixir. When you break through to Martial King, swallow it. During the breakthrough, it will carve a formation into your dantian, compressing and refining your spiritual energy. It will vastly increase the quality of your qi, giving you a deeper foundation." Shen explained.
"I see… Thank you, Professor Shen." Reston replied, glancing at Jess's pitiful expression and smiled a little.
"Ahem. Enough, I'll be off." Shen vanished in a flash.
Reston carefully examined the pitch-black elixir…, then casually grabbed the carrot from Jess's tray—the one he hadn't finished earlier—and continued eating.
After lunch, with nothing better to do, Reston tagged along with Jess to attend a theory class. But he quickly slumped onto the desk and fell asleep.
"This guy… still the same as always, forever fond of sleeping." Jess let out a small laugh, gently draped a jacket over Reston, and continued listening to the lecture.
"You there! Stand up! This is class, not your home! If you want to sleep, get out!" the professor bellowed from the podium. He had forbidden anyone to sleep in his class!
Though still in a dream, Reston was startled awake, instantly standing.
"Professor, sorry, I didn't mean to…" he said.
But Jess noticed something strange—the professor looked frozen. So did the surrounding classmates. After a few seconds, the professor's tone suddenly softened:
"It's fine, sit down. If you want to sleep, then sleep. Just don't disturb anyone."
Jess's eyes went wide. What the hell? Reston's dazed, sleepy face was indeed charming, but this professor was notorious as a devil—how could he suddenly act so gentle?
Reston was also confused, until he remembered—his **Charm** stat was at Lv5. Could it be this ability?
"Ding! Congratulations, host, for discovering the function of Charm. Reward: 50,000 system points!"
So it really was! Reston was thrilled. If even this could trigger rewards, then who knew how many hidden system functions were still waiting to be discovered?