The Lord Demon King is Unfathomable!

Chapter 1253 - 371: To Take First, One

However, the tense atmosphere did not last long, abruptly stopping with the old professor's retreat.

He took a deep breath, calmed his emotions, and put a smile on his face again, speaking in a seemingly considerate tone.

"You misunderstand, my Prince, how could I dare to instruct you on what to do? I am merely... offering you advice from the standpoint of a friend! If you find it a bit strenuous to handle this project alone, we could actually switch to a different method of cooperation."

He leaned forward again, proposing a compromise in a persuasive tone.

"You provide the resources and permissions granted by the council, and I offer my experience and technical support. You take sixty percent of all the outputs from the Void Realm; I only take forty percent. As for the research findings and honors, they all belong to you!"

"You don't need to do anything to have all of it... What do you think?"

Luo Yan was not surprised at Professor Hector's compromise; rather, he was surprised at how long Hector laid the groundwork before revealing his true intentions.

A smile appeared on Luo Yan's handsome face, but his eyes had turned cold.

He gently placed the cup of red tea back on the tray with a crisp sound, then looked directly into Professor Hector's eyes and said righteously.

"Professor Hector, the reason I came to this harsh land is not to seek treasure, but to explore unknown truths."

His voice was calm, yet carried an irresistible authority.

"Do you really think my research on the Void Realm is about fiddling with those boring scraps and those hollow honors and titles? You are insulting the Empire's Prince!"

Professor Hector was taken aback.

He had thought the other party would either accept the proposal readily or negotiate, never expecting the conversation would directly turn to noble honor.

That label is a bit too large!

"No... no, my Prince, that's not what I meant!" Hector quickly waved his hands, looking somewhat embarrassed as he tried to explain, "I just... just feared that you're too young and might encounter unexpected bottlenecks in your research..."

Luo Yan raised his hand, interrupting his feeble defense.

Looking at Professor Hector whose face turned pale, Luo Yan suddenly leaned back into the sofa, letting down the old professor who was put on the spot.

"Of course, I understand you mean well, that suggestion earlier must have been spoken unintentionally."

"Yes..." Hector forced himself to swallow his words, and took the easy way out, following the steps suggested by Prince Colin.

Luo Yan watched him relent and nodded.

"Then I hope this will be the last time; in the future, please don't speak such words again."

"Yes..."

The assistant standing in the corner of the room was completely dumbfounded looking at the head-down Professor Hector.

He couldn't imagine that this old professor, who was famously stubborn and had a fiery temper, was docile as an old dog in front of Prince Colin.

Yet soon his expression changed.

Especially when he realized he had seen an unknown side to Professor Hector, one that was sure to have repercussions for him once the old man came to his senses—until he left the Mage Tower...

Luckily, just then, a light "bang" saved him; the door to Professor Hector's office was suddenly swung open!

Assistant Miller rushed in regardless of any decorum, his Mage Robe in disarray from running, his face showing a complex expression mixed with shock, joy, and disbelief.

"Miller! You..." Hector was about to lose his temper, but Miller ignored him directly.

"Master! It's bad... no! It's great! The passage to the 440th Void Realm... it opened by itself again! And this time the energy behind the passage is more abundant than before! It's just incredible!" Miller shouted excitedly, ignoring Professor Hector's murderous glare.

These words were like a bolt from the blue, instantly striking the head of Hector Rain.

All of his prepared anger, lectures, and even coercion got stuck in his throat; he couldn't utter a single word.

He stared dumbfounded at Luo Yan, then at the assistant clutching the door frame, his mind went blank.

How is it possible?

How could the energy-depleted Void Realm, in such a short time... open itself again?!

How did this guy achieve it?!

The 440th Void Realm was no longer important.

What he desperately wanted to know now was what Prince had done to make the reopened Void Realm passage contain even more abundant Source Power!

Rich "Source Power" meant they could extract more substances from behind the Void Realm, and the risk of the passage collapsing would also decrease!

In other words—

The passage to the 440th Void Realm became more stable!

Observing the stupefied expression, Luo Yan showed a profound smile, as if everything was under his control.

Truth be told, he hadn't anticipated the Void Realm passage would reopen so quickly, but that didn't hinder his claim to the credit.

"It seems... the people of the Otherworld need me, I must take leave first."

He stood up, leisurely tidying his perfectly unwrinkled collar, speaking with a tone carrying a hint of apology to the still petrified Professor Hector.