C8 Chapter 8

After Professor Feng finished dealing with the scene, he brought the three from Ten Halls to his temporary office on campus.

“Alright,” Professor Feng said, his expression tight. “You said you had questions for me, didn’t you?” He looked like he was in a foul mood—probably because the newly discovered artifacts had been damaged again.

So Shi Dian and Chen Rui filled him in, talking over each other as they explained what had happened with the Nine-Serpent Spider Emperor. Naturally, they tweaked the part about Shi Dian destroying the thing, attributing it instead to some unknown man.

To Shi Dian’s surprise, Professor Feng didn’t look shocked at all, which left him confused.

“Do you know why I study this kind of thing?” Professor Feng stood and paced a couple of steps. “In fact, I’m the only one in the entire field who focuses on it—but there’s a reason for that.”

Then Professor Feng began to talk about his past. It turned out he’d committed himself to researching these monsters because, ten years earlier, he had seen something like them with his own eyes in a remote small town in the United States.

“Of course, what I saw was probably a little different from what you saw. It was more like a hallucination,” Professor Feng said. “I found an ancient stone tablet. When I touched it, a scene appeared in front of me. In that scene, someone seemed to be controlling a monster, fighting another one. But the moment I took my hand away, the image vanished.” He glanced at Shi Dian. “Just like what you saw at the museum. Luckily, that tablet didn’t crack. I had it shipped back to my lab and started researching it. I never expected it to turn into a ten-year obsession.”

“Then you must have gotten a lot out of it by now,” Chen Xin cut in.

“Heh. I’m afraid I’ve gone from archaeologist to collector,” Professor Feng said with a bitter smile. “Over the past ten years, I’ve kept uncovering ruins and finding huge amounts of material about these monsters—statues, murals, and writing. But I still don’t know what they really are. I haven’t even managed to fully decipher the text.”

“No way!” Chen Xin shouted, stunned.

“All we can say for sure right now is that these demons were real—at some unknown point in the distant past!” As he said that, the professor’s voice suddenly grew animated. “And our understanding of that era is basically a blank.”

Everyone was swept up by Professor Feng’s words, and the room fell silent for a long moment.

“Then, Professor—what’s your theory?” Shi Dian thought for a second, then asked.

“Based on what I’ve found so far, I believe that at one time there was a strange kind of person—people who could summon and control certain monsters, using them in wars to seize land and power. Whatever they were originally called has been lost to history, so I call them summoners,” Professor Feng said, pausing to take a breath before continuing. “These summoners still existed as recently as a thousand years ago. But after that point, I haven’t been able to find a single statue or mural depicting any of these creatures.”

“So you’re saying that, for some reason, a thousand years ago, the summoners and the monsters just… vanished?” Chen Xin jumped in immediately.

Professor Feng nodded. “That’s what it looks like. But you’ve seen them again. What does that tell us?”

“The monsters are back,” Shi Dian answered grimly. More than anyone, he knew it hadn’t been a hallucination—they were real, powerful beings.

“So far, I’ve documented 1,300 of them, spread across the globe. And I’m sure that number is only a fraction of what’s out there. If we assume the worst—if they all wake up—human society is looking at a catastrophe,” Professor Feng said heavily.

Shi Dian nodded. The professor’s concern wasn’t misplaced. He and Chen Rui both knew how terrifying those things were—far beyond what most people could imagine.

“All right. That’s everything I can tell you for now. You should head back. If we uncover anything new at the site, I’ll take you with me,” Professor Feng said, rubbing his forehead. He looked worn out.

After thanking them, the Ten Courts headed out. Running into Professor Feng was an unexpected bonus—they’d picked up a lot of useful information, which would go a long way toward unraveling the mystery surrounding the Ten Courts.

On the way back, Chen Rui asked smugly, “So what you’re saying is… you’re a summoner too?”

“Shh—keep your voice down. I’m not trying to let a bunch of people know,” the Ten Courts said, quickly scanning the area. Luckily, even though the street was crowded, no one seemed to be paying them any attention.

“Relax. Even if you told people, nobody would believe you,” Chen Rui said with a laugh, thinking the Ten Courts were being overly cautious.

“Fine. Honestly, the whole ‘summoner’ thing… back then, I just felt this massive power inside that old tower. Then a name popped into my head, and it felt completely natural—like that fire phoenix was supposed to follow my orders,” the Ten Courts said after thinking it over.

“Seriously? That’s wild. Man, if I could be a summoner too, that’d be awesome. Just thinking about it makes me look cool,” Chen Rui drifted into a daydream. The expression on his face was so intense that two girls walking toward them got spooked and hurried around him.

“Heh. Don’t even start. Come on—we should get back,” the Ten Courts said, amused, grabbing Chen Rui and sprinting toward the dorm building...