Zhang Chen, though like a lapdog in front of Lin Ying, harbored hostility towards Li Chonglou.
The furnace fire, with its swollen, exploding flames, made Li Chonglou smile.
The word "unworthy" was typically his time-saving evaluation for those he couldn't communicate with effectively.
He hadn't expected Zhang Chen to use it on him.
Li Chonglou neither got angry nor showed any excitement. Instead, he calmly asked, "Then what do you think I need to be worthy?"
A team is called a team because every member is an indispensable role.
Only with orderly division of labor and coordinated cooperation can one accomplish a task.
Although Zhang Chen harbored deep animosity towards him and was narrow-minded and petty,
Since he had been accepted into the team by his senior sister, it meant he had some strengths.
Li Chonglou would naturally not crush someone like him to death over a few words. Showing respect for the senior sister, he didn't want to cause unnecessary trouble before she spoke.
"Tell me what this is!" As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Chen, with a look of disdain, took out a small ring covered in verdigris from his pocket.
On the front of the ring was engraved a miniature clock face, with hour and second hands rendered with meticulous detail.
There was even a line of English letters on it.
However, it was obscured by the verdigris, making its true appearance unclear.
Li Chonglou's eyes flickered, his expression a mixture of emotions.
Upon seeing the ring, the smile on Lin Ying's face gradually vanished, and a hint of anger rose in her beautiful eyes: "Zhang Chen, what about your professional ethics?"
"An archaeologist actually smuggled out a cultural relic for personal use during work."
"Who gave you the right!"
Hearing this, Zhang Chen's expression froze, and a hint of panic appeared in his eyes as he defended himself, "Lin Ying, don't be angry, let me explain."
"I thought this thing was too strange, so I wanted to study it."
"I never intended to keep it for myself, or I wouldn't have taken it out in front of you."
"Don't worry, as soon as I figure out what it truly is, I'll hand it over to the museum immediately!"
"With you supervising, there will be absolutely no incidents."
Hearing this, Lin Ying's expression softened considerably.
Indeed, when this item was discovered, it had made the entire team ponder. It wasn't just Zhang Chen; she too wished to understand its true identity.
However, due to her position, she couldn't do such a thing.
She hadn't expected that scoundrel Zhang Chen would break the rules and secretly take it out.
Since he had promised to hand it over, she would consider it a loan for academic research.
However, Zhang Chen bringing out this bronze ring to ask Li Chonglou for its origin was clearly asking for the impossible.
They themselves hadn't figured it out yet.
So Lin Ying retorted on behalf of her junior disciple: "That's enough. Testing Chonglou with something you don't understand yourself is classless."
"How can this be called a test? If he can't answer anything, why should I acknowledge his abilities?" Zhang Chen was completely unfazed. Seeing that Lin Ying was no longer pursuing his transgression, triumph gleamed in his eyes.
Even those who majored in archaeology couldn't make sense of this thing, so he didn't believe Li Chonglou, an outsider, could discern anything.
As long as Li Chonglou couldn't say anything professional, he would naturally object to his joining the team.
Even if Lin Ying was unhappy, it was better than having Li Chonglou constantly around.
Judging by Lin Ying's gaze and attitude towards Li Chonglou, he would have no chance then.
"..." Lin Ying's pretty face changed slightly.
With her intelligence, how could she not see Zhang Chen's ulterior motives?
But this was a team, after all, not his private domain. He could recommend Li Chonglou to join, but he couldn't prevent other members from voicing their objections.
Zhang Chen was willing to offend her to trouble Li Chonglou.
It could be said that he was determined.
Just as she was about to speak, Li Chonglou said with a composed expression, "If you want to test me, you might as well pick something more challenging."
"Using a mere bronze watch ring to probe is a sign of your own ignorance."
These words were not born of arrogance.
From the moment Zhang Chen produced this watch ring, Li Chonglou felt amused.
This item had caused a huge stir when it first appeared in his previous life, and the archaeological community had once considered it an artifact from time travel.
After precise measurements, it was confirmed to be a 600-year-old cultural relic.
Yet, the earliest wristwatch appeared just over a hundred years ago; this was common knowledge.
But this world had objective laws to follow, and any unsolved mysteries would eventually be unraveled as one's knowledge expanded.
And the one who solved the mystery of this watch ring back then was none other than Li Chonglou himself!
By poring over countless ancient texts and documents, combined with rigorous authentication of artifacts unearthed elsewhere, he had eventually published a paper that caused a sensation across the country.
This had further elevated his fame.
He hadn't expected Zhang Chen to use this item to test him; wasn't this like showing off one's limited skill before an expert?
"You dare to act so smug, anyone can brag. If you can tell me the origin and lineage of this watch ring, I'll agree to you joining the team, how about it?" Zhang Chen said with a cold sneer.
He believed Li Chonglou was bluffing.
"I don't need your agreement. Bring something more substantial," Li Chonglou provocatively said, "In academia, the knowledgeable lead. If I can explain it, do you dare to become my disciple?"
This single sentence made Zhang Chen's expression change.
The master-disciple relationship might not be highly valued by ordinary people,
and many young people nowadays even looked down upon it.
However, for the academic world, it was an extremely important source of inheritance, and thus held significant importance.
The archaeological community was the same; once one became a disciple, they were a disciple for life, and regardless of the disciple's status or position, they had to be respectful to their master.
This was a cultural tradition and a rule that many people vigorously upheld.
Just like Li Chonglou and Lin Zhendong.
Furthermore, if he genuinely became Li Chonglou's disciple, any chance of developing something with Lin Ying would be gone forever.
That would be an act of betraying one's master.
He never imagined that Li Chonglou would be so shameless as to demand he become his disciple, which was undoubtedly the greatest humiliation.
It was no different from a resounding slap across his face.
"Kid, don't push it too far. I've tolerated you for a long time!" Zhang Chen exploded, pointing at Li Chonglou and yelling, "If you push me too far, even if Lin Ying protects me, do you believe I can make you regret it?"
"What? Scared?" Li Chonglou asked back with a faint smile, his expression unchanged.
"Me scared? The word 'scared' isn't in Zhang Chen's dictionary!" Zhang Chen's face turned red, and his neck bulged.
Successfully drawn into the trap by Li Chonglou: "Fine, become your disciple, right? As long as you can convince me, I'll do it!"
"But if you can't, you'll sever your master-disciple relationship with Uncle Lin yourself!"
"You'll be forbidden to ever step foot in Donglin again. Do you dare?"
He was absolutely convinced that Li Chonglou couldn't explain anything, so he never thought he would lose.
This was the perfect opportunity to make Li Chonglou leave for good, eliminating any possibility of him pursuing Lin Ying.
Killing two birds with one stone, why wouldn't he?
Zhang Chen was inwardly gloating, thinking how clever he was, and that Li Chonglou was lifting a rock only to drop it on his own foot.
What he wanted came without any effort.
"Deal!" The next second, before Lin Ying could react, Li Chonglou readily agreed.