Chapter 386: Challenge Her
Chapter 386: Chapter 386: Challenge Her
When Le Ling returned to her quarters, several others immediately crowded around her. "Didn’t you go see General Lan’s Contractor? How was it? Did you see her? We heard she’s a young girl, doesn’t even look twenty. Is it true?" someone asked curiously.
"A Half-beastman with as much potential as General Lan must have a really powerful master, right? Otherwise, how could he have leveled up so quickly?" speculated a young, round-faced girl who was on good terms with Le Ling.
"Not necessarily. Maybe she just got lucky and stumbled upon a great prospect like Lan Xin. I heard the Federation’s Commander, Ying Yaoshi, holds General Lan in high regard. With such a powerful Half-beastman slave, that girl can do whatever she wants," a tall, beautiful woman with blue hair said, her voice dripping with envy.
Le Ling really wanted to tell them that Ning Xuan could do whatever she wanted on her own merit, but Ning Xuan had just specifically instructed her not to reveal any information about her.
So she could only nod vaguely. "She does look pretty young, and she’s certainly very lucky." ’Lan Xin is the one who’s lucky to have met Ning Xuan,’ she thought.
The blue-haired girl’s name was Lan Jingchen. She had been interested in Lan Xin from the moment she first saw him and had even confessed her feelings to him under the pretext of discussing work. However, Lan Xin had mercilessly rejected her. From then on, he made sure Lan Jingchen never came within ten meters of him, consciously keeping his distance even in public.
Before, Lan Jingchen had assumed Lan Xin rejected everyone because he was unwilling to be controlled and was pursuing freedom. She never imagined he already had a master.
"What’s Lan Xin’s Contractor’s Spiritual Power Level? I’m going to challenge her. Federation law states that if a Half-beastman slave’s Level surpasses their master’s, a High-level Controller can challenge the original master, as long as it can be proven that the master can no longer soothe the Half-beastman. If the challenge is successful, they can take over that Half-beastman slave," Lan Jingchen said suddenly.
"There’s a rule like that?" Le Ling asked subconsciously. She genuinely hadn’t known before.
"Yes. Half-beastmen generally have high Spiritual Power Levels, and their spiritual power grows quickly. If the Half-beastman Association assigns one to a master with poor aptitude, that master won’t be able to soothe them. In that situation, as long as the Half-beastman is strong enough to find a higher-level Controller, they can change masters through a challenge. It’s actually the same principle as a connection channel being overwritten," another woman explained.
"If she’s really not even twenty, she can’t be more than a B-level Controller. I’m thirty-two and my Spiritual Power Level is A-level. I’m going to challenge her right now." Lan Jingchen shot up excitedly, ready to go find Ning Xuan.
"Don’t, Sister Lan! You really shouldn’t go." Le Ling grabbed Lan Jingchen’s arm. She had gotten along well with Lan Jingchen recently and didn’t want to see her get crushed.
"Lele, don’t stop me. In my entire life, I’ve never seen a man more beautiful than Lan Xin. I’m willing to break things off with all my other Contractors for him. I just want him." Ever since meeting Lan Xin, when she compared his beauty and power to her other Contractors, they all seemed dull and uninteresting. She wouldn’t regret giving them all up.
"Sister Lan, General Lan won’t even see you! He’s made it clear he wants nothing to do with you," Le Ling reminded her.
"As long as I defeat his Contractor, I can snatch Lan Xin for myself. It doesn’t matter whether he’s willing or not."
’If Lan Xin didn’t have a master, or if his master was some powerful senior, I’d definitely have no chance of getting him,’ Lan Jingchen thought. ’But now, not only does he have a master, but she’s just a young little girl. Isn’t this the perfect opportunity?’
"But you definitely can’t beat her! She’s an S-Class Controller, at least!" Le Ling couldn’t help but warn her.
’Just mentioning a Spiritual Power Level doesn’t count as leaking information about Ning Xuan, right?’ Le Ling thought.
"Don’t be ridiculous. There are only a handful of S-Class Controllers under the age of twenty in the entire Federation, and they’re all hidden away like treasures by the major families. Why would one of them come to such a dangerous place?" Lan Jingchen scoffed, completely disbelieving Le Ling’s words.
"I’ll make some preparations first and challenge her tomorrow. Ladies, come and be my witnesses tomorrow," Lan Jingchen announced.
「Lan Xin’s Quarters」
Ning Xuan looked around the huge, empty room. Other than a foldable cot, a chair, and a table, there was nothing but bare, white walls.
Ning Xuan put away the cot and took out his favorite carved, solid wood bed from her Space Button, placing it where the cot had been.
Next, she began placing various pieces of furniture around the room. In moments, the empty space was transformed by an exquisite bed, tables, chairs, and stools.
Ning Xuan sat down in a solid wood armchair with openwork carvings and surveyed the newly furnished room with satisfaction.
"Master, the space here is unstable, and Star Network transmissions are easily lost. It’s not safe here, either. You should return to the medical center at the secure base," Lan Xin said worriedly, standing behind Ning Xuan and kneading her shoulders.
"Lan Xin, are you trying to chase me away? What, is my being here undermining your authority in the legion?" Ning Xuan said in a calm tone, without even looking up.
Hearing Ning Xuan’s words, Lan Xin’s heart skipped a beat in alarm. He immediately let go of her shoulders, moved around to her front, and knelt.
His back was ramrod straight as he knelt, his hands placed on his knees and his head bowed low. His voice was laced with panic as he explained, "Master, please understand. How could this slave dare to think such a thing? This slave is only worried for your safety, afraid you will be harmed here."
"If I hadn’t arrived in time, you would have been ambushed. Even if you hadn’t ended up under Yan Hezhen’s control, your Spiritual Sea would have been severely damaged."
"Lan Xin, it’s been almost a year since we last saw each other, hasn’t it? After all this time, you don’t want to see me?"
"I was worried something was wrong with your spiritual power, so I came all this way just to see you. I happily furnished this room, planning to fulfill my duties as your Contractor. Did you really have to say something like that at a time like this?" Ning Xuan’s expression was as calm as a placid lake, but in reality, she was furious.
Previously, the only person Ning Xuan would take the initiative to visit was Ying Yaoshi, and that was only after he had invited her time and time again. Even when it was time for her to leave, he would be reluctant to see her go.
This time, Ning Xuan had come to the front lines. In the preceding six months, both Lin Mo and Yun Han had used injuries as an excuse to go see her. Only Lan Xin had made no move. Worried that something was wrong with him, Ning Xuan had taken the opportunity with the temporary medical team to come find him herself.