Chapter Seven: Taking on a Disciple, Michaela! ~ (Having had a bit too much to drink, I’m delighted to see your supportive comments—here’s an extra chapter.)

“Very well. From this day forward, you shall be my sole disciple in the world of Transformers. Kneel!” Michaela immediately dropped to one knee at his command. Hao Yun didn’t object; a white light flickered in his palm as he gently tapped the crown of her head.

A flood of knowledge—Chinese language, comprehension, cultivation terminology, human meridians, energy flow—was instantly transmitted into Michaela’s mind. To help her grasp it all more quickly, Hao Yun even activated her divine awareness, significantly boosting her intelligence and making the concepts of cultivation easier to understand.

Michaela closed her eyes, absorbing the vast torrent of information pouring into her consciousness. An hour passed, and as Hao Yun grew somewhat impatient waiting, Michaela finally opened her eyes, stood up, and bowed deeply to him.

“Thank you, Master.”

This time, her words were no longer English but flawless Mandarin.

“Hmm, very good,” Hao Yun nodded with approval. “With your divine awareness awakened, you have officially entered the path of cultivation. Now, you may choose your direction.”

“There are three great paths I can offer to set you on your cultivation journey.

“First, the Path of Strength. I can provide you with various super serums to rapidly enhance your body. The advantage is quick progress; the downside is a capped upper limit—the pinnacle being Earth-level, roughly equivalent to Captain America’s endurance against Thanos wielding the Infinity Gauntlet in Avengers 3 and 4.

“Second, the Path of Supernatural Power. I can procure Devil Fruit powers and teach you how to cultivate Haki. The advantage is easy entry and formidable combat ability in the early to mid stages. In later stages, your body will become elemental, rendering physical attacks useless. The highest attainable strength is the Celestial level. The drawback: you will be unable to survive in outer space. (Unlike the seawater in One Piece, which is a unique concept, this limitation is real.)

“Third, the Path of Self. I will grant you the cultivation method best suited to you—be it ninjutsu or immortal cultivation, but guaranteed to fit you perfectly. The advantage is limitless growth in the later stages, no ceiling. The downside is a weaker early and mid-phase and the need for resources such as companions, law, and land to advance.

“Choose wisely: which path do you wish to pursue?”

Hao Yun waited silently for Michaela’s decision. It wasn’t that he was unwilling to teach her as he did Ling’er; foreign students, even with enlightenment, often struggled to comprehend the nuances of Eastern cultivation.

Moreover, this world was a Mid-World, and he feared that exhausting its resources might not even sustain Michaela’s training in the long term.

Michaela hesitated briefly. She was inclined toward the third path—who wouldn’t want to grow stronger? But was it truly suitable for her?

Given the knowledge her master had imprinted in her mind—angels, demons, and the like—it seemed to follow the path of faith. Eastern cultivation was genuinely beyond her understanding.

How could a single blade of grass sever the mighty sun, moon, and stars? How could a single breath blow away an entire galaxy? It defied the law of conservation of energy!

In comparison, she could better grasp the concepts of Devil Fruits and Haki.

As for the first path, it was too weak! She still dreamed of tearing apart the Decepticons with her bare hands!

“Master, I choose the second path!”

Michaela declared resolutely. Sam was in imminent danger, and she didn’t have time to waste on a slower path.

Hao Yun was quite pleased with her choice. Sometimes, having limits was a blessing; being too strong wasn’t always advantageous.

In a Mid-World like that of the Transformers, if one truly broke through to the Celestial level, they’d likely face the Mid-World’s Heavenly Dao. After all, the responsibility of the Heavenly Dao is to balance excess and deficiency. No Heavenly Dao of any world would idly watch a cultivator drain infinite resources and ascend to another realm.

“Good. Those who understand contentment may find a better future.”

Hao Yun praised Michaela and opened the system store, which by chance displayed the One Piece page.

“What ability do you desire? Light? Fire? Ice? Lightning?”

“Master, what do you recommend?”

Michaela asked obediently.

“My advice is light. Fire, ice, and lightning all require a medium to propagate. Only light can travel freely even through the vacuum of space.”

“Alright, I’ll follow your guidance and choose light!”

As Michaela spoke, a lecherous face flashed through Hao Yun’s mind: Have you ever been kicked at light speed?

He shook his head vigorously, glancing at his charming young disciple to clear his vision. Too disgusting! No way is my girl disciple turning into that lecherous Yellow Ape!

“Then eat this.”

Hao Yun handed her a strange Devil Fruit—the Flash Fruit—priced at one million points. It was a painful expense.

He also spent another three hundred thousand points to exchange for the Three-Color Haki and the Flash Fruit training method, infusing it into Michaela’s mind. This time traveling, were his points really enough?

If not for his decent luck with daily sign-ins over the past two years, his points would have been nearly depleted.

Well, at least four years remained before Transformers 3, with 350,000 points gained annually from sign-ins. By then, he should have enough points to bring the Autobots with him.

After all, he couldn’t just take the guardians of the Transformers world away without leaving them some means of survival.

“Master, this is… amazing!”

Michaela awoke, swinging her fist transformed into beams of light. The fruit was truly nasty to eat, but this power was incredibly strong!

Hehe, now she could tear apart Decepticons with her bare hands!

“Enough playing around, be careful not to get seen!”

Hao Yun shot a sharp glance at his impish disciple. “I’m heading back first. You stay here and wait for Sam. Oh, and remember—Haki must not be casually revealed. In the future, only your disciples may cultivate it. Understand?”

“Your command is my law!”

Michaela stuck out her tongue playfully. She had almost suggested teaching Haki to Sam—good thing she hadn’t. Maybe recruiting Sam as a disciple wasn’t such a bad idea after all?

Hao Yun ignored his disciple’s childish whims, reminded her once more not to expose her cultivation recklessly, then stepped forward and teleported back home.

Now, all that remained was to await the appearance of the Fallen Transformer.

…………

At a U.S. military base, the special operations unit had just eradicated the Decepticons and returned with Optimus Prime and the Autobots when they encountered a special envoy appointed by the President.

“Apologies, Optimus. The AllSpark has been destroyed. Why haven’t we seen the Decepticons you mentioned depart? On the contrary, battles have intensified worldwide over the past two years, spanning all seven continents. Cities on Earth have suffered massive destruction, and our casualties are mounting!”

Upon meeting, the President’s special envoy, Director Gao, fired pointed questions.

“You agreed to share intelligence but refused to share weapon data. Why? Are you deliberately weakening humanity’s strength?”

“We’ve witnessed humanity’s capacity for war firsthand. Sharing such weapons would only bring harm…”

Optimus Prime sifted through human history spanning millennia. For Earth’s safety, he dared not share the most advanced weaponry.

Director Gao’s expression darkened instantly. “Who do you think you are, passing judgment on our actions?”

Tension hung thick in the air, as if Director Gao was deliberately sowing discord between humans and the Autobots…