Chapter 274: Disciple?

"What?!"

Not just Uhtred, but everyone else in the small hall — the five other ascenders and Sofia, who was watching from the balcony above — blurted out in pure shock.

Sophie Albert didn’t repeat her request. She simply stared straight into Uhtred’s eyes, a fierce, unyielding fire burning deep within her gaze.

Around the hall, the other five ascenders looked back and forth between Sophie Albert and Uhtred before exchanging incredulous glances among themselves. The Somalian man in his forties had thought his own request for unlimited access to the high-tier cultivation chambers was remarkably bold, but then the young blonde man, Artlet Bartlett, had one-upped him with his own added request...

Uhtred had still accepted all their requests to their utmost surprise... But this... this was on an entirely different level. Sophie Albert was asking to become the direct disciple of the most powerful ascender on the planet!

The surface-level implications didn’t even begin to do justice to what that request truly entailed. To an average person, it might sound as though Sophie Albert was merely asking to be Uhtred’s protege — someone he passed his insights and combat techniques down to, which was already a massive privilege in itself.

However, the true weight of that request went far deeper.

For Sophie Albert to become Uhtred’s true disciple, it would mean that she would gain access to far more than just his guidance. She would inherit resources exponentially greater than the high-tier cultivation chambers the others had asked for. She would be standing right on the front lines of every major event he was involved in. Every single resource that he deemed no longer useful to his own progression would naturally be passed down to her by default.

The benefits were practically limitless. But in essence, if what the others had asked for was akin to securing a single paved road to great heights and power, then what Sophie Albert had just asked for was the equivalent of not just a paved road, but a whole goddamn divine passage, carving her path straight through the heavens!

Uhtred went quiet for several seconds, genuinely stunned by her audacity. Of all the things he had expected her to ask for, a discipleship hadn’t even crossed his mind.

A disciple...?

It was something he had never considered for even a single moment. He didn’t even view himself as someone qualified to act as a proper teacher to another person, let alone take on a full-fledged disciple.

What a dilemma, he thought.

On one hand, he had walked into this meeting with the quiet intention of granting whatever favor was asked of him, so long as it remained somewhat reasonable. He had only put on a thoughtful, deliberating posture earlier so the six ascenders wouldn’t feel like their requests were something he could grant flippantly without a second thought.

...But this request was something else.

In truth, if he really wanted to, he could just say yes to Sophie Albert’s request right now. There were no rigid rules governing how a master had to treat their disciple. He could choose to be extremely stingy with his resources, to the point where she might end up receiving far less than the others who had asked for free cultivation chamber passes.

He could choose to be brutally strict with her, forcing her to earn every single bit of guidance through grueling trials, far harder than anything a normal Capitol ascender faced, and no one would even bat an eye at his methods. At worst, people would simply view him as a demanding, stingy mentor.

However, Uhtred knew very well that he was not that kind of person. If he were ever to take on a genuine disciple, whoever that person turned out to be would immediately be placed in a position of incredible abundance. They would receive access to the best resources available and his undivided personal insights.

He was Uhtred, Earth’s mightiest, a Primordial Grade talent with a Formless class. While he wasn’t one to be performative, there were simply some things that he could not afford to lose face about, one of them being discipleship.

Of course, all of these thoughts were only just firing off in Uhtred’s mind now. He was only just deciding his position on how he felt about the matter, simply because he had never even considered it for a moment, ever before.

And it was for this reason that he easily came to a decision in regards to Sophie Albert’s request:

"I cannot make you my disciple," Uhtred said after his brief pause, the initial shock on his face smoothing back into a calm composure.

The bright fire in Sophie Albert’s eyes visibly dimmed at his blunt refusal, but Uhtred continued speaking before the disappointment could settle, his next words instantly reigniting that spark.

"However... I can make you my in-name disciple," he said, his tone carrying a firm, steady weight. "You will not be formally bound to me in true discipleship. I will offer a few pointers whenever I have the time, and I will guide your growth when I see fit, but for the most part, your progression will depend entirely on your own effort. Your performance and your growth are what will determine whether I ever take you on as a true disciple. You have to understand that I cannot simply hand over something as heavy as a full discipleship just because someone asks for it."

His words could easily be interpreted as haughty or overbearing, but every single person present in the hall knew he was entirely justified in saying so.

This was Uhtred they were talking about. The fact that he was even willing to grant her the status of an in-name disciple was already a massive shock to everyone present. At the very least, a clear door had been opened for Sophie Albert. So long as she proved her worth and pushed herself as she climbed the path of ascension, there was still a real chance for her to eventually become Uhtred’s true disciple.

Sofia, who was watching the exchange from the upper balcony, looked on with unhidden envy in her eyes. She couldn’t have masked the feeling even if she tried. She was someone who held Uhtred in extraordinarily high regard, and seeing someone else gain the opportunity to become his in-name disciple — even if that person happened to be her closest friend — left her feeling deeply envious.

Yet at the same time, she was genuinely thrilled for her friend. It was an incongruous, bittersweet thing.

On one hand, the jealousy was undeniable, but on the other, she was internally cheering for her friend. Sophie Albert finally had a clear avenue to become strong — strong enough to eventually take her revenge on the Prime Sapien Ancient Variants that had slaughtered her family. That was a victory worth celebrating.

Sofia let out a quiet sigh, settling the conflicting feelings in her heart. She consciously chose to push her envy aside and focus on supporting her friend.

But at the same time, a fresh fire was lit beneath Sofia herself. Sophie Albert had just taken a large step forward, one that would accelerate her growth beyond normal limits.

Now, it was up to Sofia to ensure she didn’t get left behind. She needed to push herself harder than she ever had before... and maybe, just maybe, she might earn her own chance to become an in-name disciple alongside her.

With that final exchange, the meeting officially came to an end. The six ascenders who had been direct victims of the Ancient Variant attacks were thus settled.