Disciple?

"Oh, my goodness!" Skye couldn't help but exclaim, her face full of disbelief.

While Saitama had knocked down a few thugs in front of her more than once, the scenes weren't this explosive. At the very least, Saitama had only knocked them down, at most knocked them unconscious, but never killed anyone. But now, Saitama not only sent people flying, but he even made the person he sent flying crash through a wall. Such immense power wasn't something an ordinary person could achieve. Skye even had the illusion of seeing a superhero from a comic book appear.

"Saitama, how, how do you have such great strength?" Skye's face was filled with surprise, curiosity, and even a hint of longing.

"Of course, it's through arduous training," Saitama said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Training? How do you train? Is it the legendary Chinese Kung Fu?" Skye's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

"Hmm, I don't know," Saitama scratched his head. In his previous world, the concept of countries had long since disappeared, so whether it was America, Japan, or China, Saitama had never heard of them before.

"You don't know? Then how did you train?" Skye looked at Saitama speechlessly.

"My training was extremely difficult, extremely painful, and required great perseverance to stick with it," Saitama said with utmost seriousness.

"Uh, hearing you say that, it sounds really difficult. If I want to train with you, can I?" Skye hesitated a little, but she still craved power. After all, someone who was bullied since childhood would pursue power more strongly than an ordinary person.

"If you want to train with me, I won't stop you, but whether you can stick with it will depend on yourself," Saitama said, adopting the attitude of a master guiding a disciple.

"I, I want to try," Skye licked her lips. With such an opportunity before her, Skye didn't want to give it up.

"Very good! Since you want to try, I will teach you my training method. I hope you can persevere," Saitama's expression became increasingly serious.

"I, I will definitely persevere," Skye looked at Saitama's serious face and also became serious.

Saitama's expression grew more solemn: "Are you, are you really decided?"

"Yes! I've decided." The more solemn Saitama looked, the more Skye felt that what Saitama was about to say must be very powerful. It was like in China, where there were rules about lineage, like passing down secrets only to males, or only to family members. Skye felt that perhaps Saitama was Chinese.

"My training is very hard, no, it should be said very difficult. Are, are you ready?"

"I'm ready."

"Not afraid of hardship?"

"Not afraid!"

"Not afraid of tempering?"

"Not afraid!"

"Can you persevere?"

"I can persevere!"

"If that's the case, then alright. I will now tell you the secret to my training." Saitama's expression became increasingly solemn, and even his usually dull and vacant face now held a dignified air.

Skye swallowed. She was influenced by Saitama and became increasingly nervous. "Wait, wait."

"Hmm? What's wrong, Skye?"

"I, I'll write it down."

"Okay!" Saitama nodded.

Skye quickly took out paper and a pen, took a deep breath, "I'm ready, Saitama, you can speak."

"Okay, then listen--"

"Wait!"

"Huh?"

"Um, Saitama, if I learn kung fu from you, do I have to formally become your disciple? I heard that only after becoming a disciple will a master teach their skills to a student without reservation," Skye thought of the Chinese martial arts novels she had read.

"Huh? Become a disciple?" Saitama scratched his head.

"Saitama, Master, please accept me."

"Uh."

"Saitama, Master?"

"Master? No."

"Then, Mentor?"

"No."

"Shifu?"

"No, why do you want to become my disciple?" Saitama found it quite strange and couldn't help but scratch his bald head again.

"Because only after becoming a disciple will a master teach without reservation."

"Who said that?"

"It's what the books say?"

"Huh?"

Whether to accept a disciple or not, Saitama felt a headache. He hadn't intended to take on any disciples, but Skye seemed determined, stubbornly insisting on becoming Saitama's student. She had even started calling Saitama "Master." Saitama corrected her, but she didn't listen at all.

"Saitama, Master, you can speak now." Skye held her paper and pen, her expression solemn, her mind completely focused, afraid that even a slight distraction would cause her to mishear something.

Saitama's expression grew increasingly serious, more cautious, and more earnest.

"Skye, listen carefully."

"Yes! Saitama, Teacher!"

"First and foremost, the most important thing is whether you can persevere through high-intensity training."

"Training?" Skye became even more serious, quickly jotting the sentence down in her small notebook.

"You must persevere, no matter how tough it gets. It took me three years to gain my current strength."

"Three years?" Skye's spirit jolted. Just three years to easily defeat those thugs? That sounded pretty good. Skye had no idea how truly powerful Saitama was, as he had only defeated a few minor thugs. For Skye, three years of training to defeat a few thugs armed with knives seemed like a worthwhile investment.

"One hundred push-ups, one hundred sit-ups. One hundred squats. And a ten-kilometer run, I do it every day!" Saitama said with a serious expression, detailing his training methods.

The pen in Skye's hand gradually slowed. What Saitama was saying seemed completely different from what she had imagined.

"Of course, you need to eat well three meals a day, and a banana for breakfast is fine too. To pursue the extreme, to train the spirit, I don't use air conditioning in summer or winter. It was incredibly hard at first, I wanted to die and just take a day off. But for the sake of becoming a strong hero, no matter how difficult, even if I vomited blood, I never stopped. Even when my legs were weak, I persisted with squats. When my arms made crackling noises, I kept doing push-ups. A year and a half ago, I noticed a change. I went bald! Then I got stronger. In other words, train like crazy until you go bald, that's the only way to get stronger."

Saitama recounted his past hardships with a look of unbearable difficulty.

"Uh, are, are you kidding me?" Skye's lips twitched.

"No?" Saitama looked at Skye blankly, not understanding why she would say that.

"Saitama, Teacher, I've already called you Teacher!" Skye glared at Saitama through gritted teeth.

"Uh, I told you not to call me Teacher." Saitama shook his head.

"You. You bastard, if you don't want to teach me, just say so! Instead, you make things up. I'm angry." Skye said through gritted teeth.

"Uh, but, I'm not making things up?" Saitama scratched his head.

"Not making things up? Don't tell me these are your training methods? I haven't trained much, but I understand common sense. The training methods you described are just for ordinary people to exercise. People with money go to gyms and have more advanced training methods than what you've described. While the training volume might be difficult for a beginner, for someone with a strong body, this level of intensity is nothing."

Skye was indignant. Whether Saitama taught her or had some secret male-only techniques, Skye could accept it. But Saitama was clearly deceiving her, which was unbearable.

"But, but I'm telling the truth! This is how I trained." Saitama rubbed his nearly bald head.

"Hmph!" Skye snorted and turned her head away, no longer wanting to deal with Saitama.

Saitama felt completely wronged. He was telling the truth! It was a truly arduous and difficult training! Why didn't Skye believe him and accuse him of lying?

ps: Stayed up all night to catch a flight yesterday, and I'm still looking for a place today. I'm exhausted. That's all for now.