Lord of the Truth

"...."

All the students glanced at each other, exchanging wary looks for a few long, silent seconds.

Then finally, one of the boldest among them, a student known for his nerve, stepped forward slightly and asked with furrowed brows,

"Are you saying that His Majesty, the Monarch, is wrong? That all of the instructors—every professor except for you—are mistaken when they tell us not to rely on laws? And that only you are right?"

"Yes. Yes, I am the one who's right, I'm always right, everyone who disagrees with me can go fuck themselves!"

Robin replied without hesitation, his voice firm and his tone dripping with certainty.

Then he spoke again, now pacing slowly, letting his sharp gaze sweep across the entire room.

"I honestly don't care about Her Majesty's personal decisions. If she thinks this approach is better suited for her, let her walk that path. That's her business.

But if she has ordered for the same methodology to be applied and enforced across the board—to all students—then she's absolutely wrong!"

He continued speaking, the same level of conviction in every word he said.

"Physical strength is useful. That much is true. And your close-combat skills are definitely impressive—some of you are gifted in that area. But the fact that you've abandoned the laws, the fact that you've completely ignored them… that is nothing short of an insult. An insult to the divine laws themselves! And frankly, for some strange reason I can't even explain, it feels like a personal insult to me as well!"

Then he narrowed his eyes, his expression losing all warmth, replaced by utter indifference.

His face still radiated that overwhelming arrogance, the kind that made others feel they were insects before him.

"What you witnessed today was my method. The teaching style that governs this academic building.

Here, we focus on divine laws—on understanding their core principles, unraveling their hidden depths, and mastering their use to the absolute extreme.

I will not tolerate lazy students. I won't allow unmotivated brawlers and punch-swingers to loiter under my roof without purpose anymore.

None of you will be allowed into this building again until you break through in your understanding of your personal law—until you climb ten entire ranks in the next combat event, or whatever you call it. Understood?"

"I reject this entire ideology!!"

Another student shouted angrily, his voice full of emotion.

That instructor—no, that madman—was trying to tear down and rebuild everything they'd spent years learning!

"Then go reject it at your mother's house."

Robin said coldly, pointing directly at the door with absolute dismissal.

Then he raised his voice even louder, so all could hear,

"All of you—out. Now.

If I find anyone still standing in front of me after just three seconds, I swear, I will attack them on the spot."

"This… this is utterly unacceptable!"

"This is pure arrogance taken too far!"

"What kind of teacher are you exactly?!"

Robin pretended not to hear a single complaint.

Without changing his expression, he calmly opened his mouth again and began counting:

"One..."

Whoosh Whoosh

In the blink of an eye, the majority of students vanished, fleeing in terror.

The rest took a few moments to grab their unconscious friends, then hurried out as well.

Later that same day, all of them were seen sprinting through the academy's walkways and streets, their faces pale, as if being chased by a demon.

"...That was harsher than it needed to be."

Shaddad exhaled with a deep sigh, watching nearly seventy students and trainees disappear in every direction as if some beast had been set loose on them.

"Forget about it. No other method would've worked in this situation."

Robin waved it off casually, letting out a small laugh.

"Now, rumors will spread. They'll say I'm terrifying, overly demanding, and that I attack my students. More importantly, they'll say I expelled them myself.

Some complaints might surface here and there, maybe from some important parents, but who cares?

That's far better than letting them stay here and associate themselves with me.

With any luck, I won't have to lay eyes on a single one of them again, hehe."

Then he glanced sideways toward Shadad, a faint smirk playing at the edge of his lips.

"And also—I don't want you wasting your time on them. Not unless you're getting something in return.

I appreciate your goodwill, really, I do. But this time, your concern wasn't needed."

"..."

Shaddad gave a slow nod, his smile awkward.

Should he be pleased that Robin acknowledged his intentions? Or offended that his involvement was deemed pointless?

"Do you have anything holding you back right now?"

Robin extended his hand toward Shaddad with a slight smile.

"Yes sir!!"

Shadad's chaotic thoughts vanished instantly. He scrambled and pulled out three incomplete diagrams with haste.

"Hmm..."

Robin examined the first one quickly, then nodded in approval several times.

"Not bad at all. It seems you've been absorbing the insights I gave you last time."

Then he took out a pen and started sketching in the empty section of the page.

"If I don't use this chance to learn from you, then when would I ever get another one?"

Shaddad sighed, genuinely grateful.

To him, Robin was something close to a true master, even if Robin stubbornly refused to accept him as a formal disciple.

"I need a favor from you."

Robin said calmly while still finishing the drawing.

Shaddad immediately stiffened.

"Please—just say the word!"

Being taught by Robin had saved him millennia of wandering, trial, and error. Whatever his teacher needed, he would provide—without hesitation.

"Hmm... long ago, I used tattoos to enhance my body—engraved runes, power channels, the usual stuff.

But something happened, something catastrophic. My body was damaged beyond repair and I lost all of my previous progress."

Robin scratched his head with the pen for a moment, then continued,

"Anyway, after that, I stopped applying tattoos altogether. I thought it might be better to wait, to first solve the problems related to them—maybe I'd come up with something superior."

"Now, however... I just don't think I have the time anymore to figure it all out myself.

And since you're here—and since you specialize in body refinement and physical enhancement—I need your expert opinion."

Then he paused for emphasis and looked Shaddad straight in the eye.

"Which one is better, in your professional opinion—tattoos and energy-drawing techniques... or body weaponizing?"

"Weaponizing."

Shaddad replied immediately, without even a moment of doubt.

"..."

Robin tapped the back of his pen against the paper a few times, as if thinking, then finally drew the last line.

He handed the finished drawing to Shaddad.

"Thought you'd say that. So… what's the cost? How much would it take to reach a physical strength roughly equivalent to stage four law user?"

"You'll need five special elemental baths. After each one, your body will require time to fully absorb the elements, and your strength will gradually increase during that period until it hits the upper limit.

Then, once the process is complete, you can proceed to the next bath."

Shaddad took the drawing and began examining it, visibly impressed.

"For all five combined… I think seventy thousand pearls should be enough to cover the cost."

Robin raised an eyebrow.

"Seventy thousand pearls from scratch all the way to level fifty? That's highly impractical, borderline absurd, honestly."

"I'll provide them to you completely free of charge regardless, if you're genuinely interested in exploring the body weaponization path!"

Shaddad suddenly snapped, unable to hold back.

"I swear—on my name, on everything—I won't take a single pearl from you! Not one! This discussion is closed!"

"..."

Robin lifted an eyebrow again, clearly surprised by the sudden burst of emotion.

Then, after a moment of silence, he began to laugh, softly at first, then more fully.

"Very well, I'll accept that—but only on one condition: I refuse to accept them without offering something in return."

Robin casually handed him the second diagram.

"...?!"

Shadad froze in disbelief, stunned not only by how quickly Robin had produced it, but also by the fact that it was finished.

His mind short-circuited for a moment. These were the kinds of locked-path problems—issues so complex they could stall a researcher for thousands of years, or even completely block off that field of study forever.

And yet, in the hands of the elder brother, they hadn't even lasted a few minutes...

Is this what separates a Great Truth Chosen from the rest of us?

"Heh~"

Shadad exhaled slowly with a sigh, one filled with quiet admiration and the weight of helplessness.

The gap between them was vast—almost laughably so.

"And...."

Robin made a single precise motion, drawing a delicate arc in a cramped little corner of the parchment.

Then the pen simply vanished from his hand as if it had never been there.

"We're done here."

"This..."

Shaddad took the third diagram into his hands, his fingers trembling ever so slightly.

With a smooth wave of his hand, Robin summoned two metallic plates into his palms.

He then closed his eyes for several minutes while holding them in silence, as though syncing his thoughts or invoking something.

Eventually, he opened his eyes with a faint smile and handed one of the tablets to Shaddad.

"Inside this one, you'll find a complete set of body strengthening tattoos—ranging from grade one all the way to grade four.

They were designed and crafted by a third-stage Truth Chosen, someone who specialized exclusively in the art of tattoo-based enhancement.

You might notice that some of the patterns look strange or unfamiliar—that's because they were originally intended for a race called the Nihari Giants.

However, with a bit of effort, some research, and a few adjustments, they can be modified and tailored to suit any race you choose."

Then he extended the second tablet.

"This one contains the original thoughts, research notes, and theoretical improvements of that very same Truth Chosen.

It outlines how to further develop the tattoo framework and eliminate the majority of its weaknesses."

This particular tablet housed the scattered manuscript Robin had discovered in the ancient archive of the second Nihari Chosen.

Then Robin pointed toward both tablets.

"In my humble and entirely unbiased opinion, these two together may offer a complete solution—enough to construct a cost-efficient, practical body cultivation path all the way to the fourth stage.

And perhaps, just perhaps, a clue... a key... to unlocking the fifth cultivation path as well. Who knows what potential lies within~"

"This will be my payment for the preparation of those weaponization baths.

I trust this is more than enough to settle the matter!"

Robin clapped his hands lightly, his tone cheerful, and stood to his feet.

"Now, if you don't mind, I'll be heading upstairs to my apartment.

I want to enter the Soul Society and see whether that little fairy has managed to prepare any requests for me from the Chamber of Truth, hehe."

He then gave Shaddad a friendly pat on the shoulder and calmly passed by him, ascending the stairs toward his personal quarters.

Leaving the poor man behind, frozen in place—his mouth slightly open, his eyes stretched impossibly wide, and drool slowly dripping from the corner of his lips without him even noticing.

His thoughts were blank. His mind had stopped functioning.

A key to his dream...

A real, tangible key to crafting a universal physical body path for everyone?

As the price of an weaponization bath?!