Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 117 - 37: Associate Professor

Chapter 117: Chapter 37: Associate Professor

Noon.

"A throwable Death Qi Bomb?"

Duan Mingyuan sat cross-legged on the ground, carefully examining the black cube floating in the palm of his hand, something Chen Chou had come up with overnight following his suggestion.

Its use was similar to that of a hand grenade; merely throwing it with all one’s might at the ground would release a wave of Deathly Aura that could corrode all living beings within a hundred meters in an instant.

This was probably another advantage of evildoers; they didn’t need sleep and could plan terrorist attacks with the time humans spent sleeping.

Duan Mingyuan felt that Wangxu would be very interested in the Death Qi Bomb. Although it couldn’t take on the "Long Branch," it could cause unimaginable damage to the company. All one had to do was hand it over to those who harbored hatred against the Extraterrestrials, let them take the Death Qi Bombs to various branches, and then throw them forcefully at the ground.

While Duan Mingyuan had always maintained that Ability in itself was neither good nor evil, and that it was the user that determined its nature, he had to admit that some Abilities were naturally suited for terrorists.

Chen Chou was determined and ambitious, "When the time comes, I want to train several hundred Dead Soldiers to carry these things into the Prime Monarch’s palace and blow them up."

"That’s probably going to be very difficult to achieve."

Duan Mingyuan had no choice but to douse the other’s enthusiasm with a splash of cold water, "The Imperial Court is heavily guarded, and now only a very few individuals who have caught the eye of the Extraterrestrials can obtain permission to enter the Court. These individuals excel in various fields and have already gained both fame and fortune; it should be very hard to brainwash them with your ideology."

He always felt that Chen Chou had spent too long in Ghost Prison and didn’t understand the changes in the outside world, hence his thoughts of revenge remained at a primitive stage, where the only method he could think of was to create a bomb and blow up the Extraterrestrials.

"You would be better off continuing to study the Blood Sacrifice Ritual."

"Why are you so interested in the Blood Sacrifice Ritual?"

Chen Chou didn’t understand.

He was a product of the Blood Sacrifice Ritual himself, having gathered the Life Energy of all the sacrificers, but his previous defeats had made him realize a fact— with his current Strength, he couldn’t even entertain Duan Mingyuan to the fullest.

Even if he truly improved the Sacrifice Ritual and concentrated all the Energy of the academy, it probably wouldn’t give Duan Mingyuan a truly exhilarating fight.

"Because if the ritual can be successfully improved, not only the people of Cloud Sea Academy would benefit."

Duan Mingyuan answered.

Bai Kou had said that humans on this planet were an important resource in themselves, but under the company’s influence, most people were not aware of Life Energy, let alone able to harness it, and the Strength of individuals were too insignificant to negotiate with the Extraterrestrials.

However, if it were possible to aggregate these individuals’ Strength through some ritual, it would create a force that even the Extraterrestrials wouldn’t dare to trivialize.

From this, one might also create a bargaining chip for negotiations with the company.

"Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime."

Duan Mingyuan’s time and energy were also limited; he couldn’t possibly appear everywhere on the planet at once to help every indigenous group like Cloud Sea Academy with their problems.

But he could produce a set of teaching materials about Life Energy and distribute them everywhere, letting interested individuals learn on their own.

Chen Chou frowned, feeling that Duan Mingyuan’s ideas were perhaps a bit too complicated, "In my opinion, you should just join forces with me and blow up the company."

"That wouldn’t be much different from doing it alone."

"Are you looking down on me?"

"I’m simply stating facts. If we were to rate by job titles, you would probably have just earned a senior title."

"Senior title? Then those ’Long Branch’ you speak of, what level are they at?"

"They are the best-selected by the company from various planets, calling them Cosmic Level powerhouses wouldn’t be an exaggeration."

"Cosmic Level?"

Chen Chou was somewhat baffled and asked, "So how many levels am I behind them?"

"At least two levels."

"Two levels!?"

"Beyond the senior professional title, there are full professors and academicians. On other planets, those who are recruited into ’Long Branch’ by companies are at least at the academician level."

Upon hearing this, Chen Chou fell silent.

Although he verbally acknowledged no superior, he was very aware deep down that he was still far from being the strongest on the planet.

After reflecting, he then asked, "So, how can I be promoted to the level of a full professor?"

"In theory, your Life Energy level is already there, but you lack depth."

"Make yourself clear, stop saying things I don’t understand."

"Put simply, you haven’t mentored students or devoted yourself to this domain to make significant academic breakthroughs. To be promoted to a full professor, you need to publish papers that push the academic field forward. Only then will others be convinced of your contributions."

"How do I publish papers? Can I write down the Tricky Art I know and publish it?"

"No, that knowledge was given to you by others through the Blood Sacrifice Ritual; it’s suspect of plagiarism. What you publish should be your own research findings."

"What research findings could I possibly have?"

Chen Chou became anxious. Asking him to explode Extraterrestrials was one thing, but having him settle down to research was like asking for his life.

Duan Mingyuan persuaded him with patience and kindness, preferring to believe in individual initiative over coercion, "The Blood Sacrifice Ritual—if you can find a way to eliminate its side effects and apply it widely, that would be regarded as a significant academic achievement. When this achievement is promoted, it could be credited under your name."

"So if I research and come up with it, I can be promoted to a full professor?"

"Yes."

"It’s a deal."

Duan Mingyuan added, "Also, a professor needs to teach students."

"Haven’t I already started as a teaching assistant?"

"That’s large-scale teaching, not the same as having your own graduate students."

"Why are there so many requirements? Are you trying to trick me again?"

"Don’t be too quick to refuse." Duan Mingyuan waved his hand, "Having students is only beneficial and not harmful to you now."

"Then tell me, what’s the benefit for me?"

"Currently, the academic field hasn’t formed a system; it’s the perfect time to establish your circle. Students you mentor will naturally be part of your circle. In your era, this is somewhat similar to the concept of a ’school’. Not only that, but many minor details in researching academic issues and drafting papers don’t require your direct involvement. You can delegate the less important parts to your students."

This Mingyuan kid!

Not only can he fight, but he also talks a good game, and Chen Chou suspected that Duan Mingyuan was pulling the wool over his eyes, yet he couldn’t help but be intrigued.

"Where do I recruit graduate students from?"

"You being an evil spirit by nature, it might be inconvenient to recruit human students, so I’ve specially found two potential graduate students for you... come over here."

As Duan Mingyuan spoke, two figures timidly walked towards the wooden hut.

Duan Mingyuan then introduced them to Chen Chou, "This is Red-eyed Demon, and the other is Qian Yun, who previously ran a hotel with their family and is very good with logistics."

Then, he turned to Red-eyed Demon and Qian Yun and said, "This is Mr. Chen Chou, a senior with hundreds of years of industry research experience, a truly rare good teacher at present."

"Hello, teacher."

Red-eyed Demon and Qian Yun obediently said in unison.

"Don’t call me teacher!"

Chen Chou folded his arms across his chest, feigning sternness, but he could hardly contain his joy, "Remember, in class, you must call me professor."