Next Day.
When he appeared at Shrek Academy early in the morning, there were already four people standing there.
Zhu Zhuqing, Dai Mubai, and Oscar stood behind Xiao Wu like tails, greeting him respectfully. Salas silently acknowledged their greetings with a smile, but he was more interested in what they were going to do next.
After all, since Xiao Wu was here with them and there was no sign of Tang San or the other three, it could easily be guessed that they must have reached out to Xiao Wu for help last night... As for the others, they likely knew about this and were giving them space to speak with Salas alone.
As Salas began talking with Xiao Wu about her cultivation and progress in battle techniques, Zhu Zhuqing—the reserved girl standing behind her—nervously tugged at Xiao Wu's sleeve. Dai Mubai and Oscar also signaled frantically with their eyes. Their impatience was clearly visible.
In turn, Xiao Wu could only give them a helpless but reassuring look.
Seeing their antics, Salas was sure his efforts hadn't gone to waste.
"Master... I want to ask you something," Xiao Wu finally spoke, stepping closer and hugging his arm.
Salas nodded, gesturing for her to continue, while gently patting her head.
"It's like this... Didn't you tell me before that you might take four more disciples in the future?" Xiao Wu whispered softly.
Salas nodded with a smile. He had indeed said that—all for this very moment.
"You also said that you wouldn't care about aptitude and would only care about fate... So don't you think it's fate that you encountered the three of them?" Xiao Wu gently shook his arm and asked with a soft voice.
To her earnest question, Salas responded with a helpless smile.
"Girl, I did say that. But you must understand—not everyone we meet can be considered fate. The reason I met you was fate, and you know very well the circumstances of that meeting. But do you really think my encounter with them is the same as with you?"
"Ahhhh~~ But Master..." Xiao Wu couldn't find a proper rebuttal. Still, she had already promised the three that she would help them, so she couldn't help but feel downcast.
The three—Dai Mubai and the others—hearing what Salas said, looked dejected and lost. But the next words Salas spoke reignited the light in their eyes.
"But for your sake, my dearest disciple, I'll give them a chance. But if they fail to grasp it... then that's the end of the matter." With a doting look, Salas patted Xiao Wu's head, his voice coaxing.
Since these three were so eager to become his disciples, Salas had already thought of a new way to make use of the situation.
Lifting his head, he calmly looked at the three standing before him and asked,
"You three want to become my disciples?"
The three of them nodded nervously.
"I can guess why you want to become my disciples. I'm not against it—I understand your thoughts. Being opportunistic is not wrong. In my eyes, people who don't seize the opportunities in front of them are fools," Salas said with a slight smile, shaking his head.
The three, realizing Salas had seen through their thoughts and even spoken them out loud, looked ashamed and lowered their heads.
But Salas didn't mind and continued, his expression turning a little more serious.
"But I must correct something Little Wu said, so that you don't get the wrong idea. Although I do plan to take four more disciples, those four will not be on the same status as Little Wu. That number—four—itself has its own reason. The disciples I take will have their own tasks and responsibilities to shoulder. They will follow me until the end of their lives. If I were to lose my life, they will carry on my legacy."
"And what Little Wu said is right—I won't judge based on aptitude. I can take someone with low innate soul power and still cultivate them to become a Titled Douluo, even help them reach the peak. What this world deems impossible, I can make possible."
"But again... while I won't look at aptitude, I will look at character." Salas's voice trailed off like a wave as he paused, giving them time to reflect on the weight of becoming his disciple.
His original plan was to accept them as disciples the moment they asked. That alone would ensure their loyalty, considering how highly master-disciple relationships are valued in this world.
But then again, in the Douluo Continent, there were many cases of disciples turning on their masters for love or becoming ungrateful after gaining power. All because the expectations and responsibilities of being a disciple were never made clear from the start—nor the consequences of breaking them.
Salas wanted all his disciples to know exactly what they were getting into. After all, if they were this eager to become his disciples, even if he demanded something excessive—like asking them to kill their own father in the future—they would probably obey.
Since that's the case, he might as well state his terms openly. They would still accept them in the end. His terms weren't really different from what other masters expected. The only difference was that those masters never said it out loud—giving their disciples an excuse to leave or rebel when they grew stronger, since there had been no clear commitment.
Now that Salas had said it openly, if they tried to break away in the future, he could righteously punish them...
As for telling them they wouldn't be on the same level as Xiao Wu? Haha. What a joke. He was just using this opportunity to remind Xiao Wu of what her responsibilities were supposed to be.
When he took her as a disciple, he hadn't had the chance—or perhaps didn't dare—to say all this clearly. But now that he had this opportunity to speak indirectly through the others, wouldn't she now understand what it truly meant to be Salas's disciple?
In truth, they were all just his subordinates. Nothing more.
.....