Accepting a Disciple

"What should I do?" Zhu Xiyan's eyes were pained, her voice filled with confusion.

Hals, who had unknowingly walked to within half a meter of Zhu Xiyan, leaned down, the brim of his hood nearly brushing the top of her head.

His voice was hoarse and ethereal, as if drifting from a distant horizon: "Take me as your master, and I can grant you power."

"Power?" Zhu Xiyan murmured softly, but a glimmer of hope reignited in her eyes. She jerked her head up, her expression agitated, like a drowning person grasping at the last straw. "If I take you as my master, you'll give me power?"

Zhu Xiyan stared unblinkingly at Hals' face, usually hidden in shadow. Though that pale countenance was covered in scars and strange, incomprehensible symbols, she felt no fear, only a desperate hope for an affirmative answer.

She wasn't disappointed. Hals' lips curled slightly as he slowly straightened up, no longer looking at the girl but turning his head toward the Simulation Training Ground. Yet his words came out calmly: "Of course. Power."

"Thud. Thump, thump, thump."

Gazing into the distance, his thoughts wandering to who knows where, a dull thud and three slightly crisper sounds came from behind him.

Hals turned around and saw the girl kneeling on the ground, her forehead pressed tightly against the floor.

Her voice was somewhat muffled, tinged with excitement and stubbornness as it emerged from her lips.

"I don't know why you'd treat me like this the moment we met, but as long as you haven't lied, as long as you can give me power, then..."

With that, the girl lifted her forehead and slammed it down hard again.

"Master!"

A stiff smile crept across Hals' face beneath his hood. He hadn't expected things to go so smoothly. Though he had prepared many methods to achieve Zhu Xiyan's apprenticeship, this ease was beyond his expectations.

Amid his delight, a trace of amusement and disgust surfaced. Just how much pressure had the Zhu Family put on her, that a mere subtle soul suggestion could seize control of her emotions? Indeed, families and nations like this had no reason to exist. Better to wait until the future, when he could help his lord raze this place.

As he pictured the future in his mind, a cold smirk tugged at his lips. He bent slightly, patted Zhu Xiyan on the shoulder, then turned and walked toward the Simulation Field.

"Get up. It's getting late. We should go see your foolish, self-righteous classmates..."

Zhu Xiyan's body trembled slightly. She rose swiftly and neatly, following that broad, imposing silhouette.

"Yes, Master..."

To err is human, let alone these teenagers, mostly fifteen or sixteen. At first, they barely managed to keep running, but after a few laps without spotting Hals' trace, they figured no one would catch them slacking off. So they sneaked off to rest, play, and mess around in hidden corners, completely unaware that a powerful Soul Douluo had countless ways to keep an eye on them...

"Hahaha, that teacher's a real joke, telling us to run laps ourselves? Ridiculous." A boy glanced at his slightly embarrassed friend, who felt a twinge of guilt, winked, and threw an arm around his shoulder, grinning. "Hey, look at you. That weirdo kept that other weird girl behind—think they're hooking up?"

Getting no response for a moment, he turned to look at his friend, whose face was full of terror. He froze, his expression shifting to amusement and confusion. "What's up? Don't tell me you've got a thing for that chick? No way, you've got some messed-up taste?"

"S-stop, stop talking." His friend's voice trembled and turned shrill. "S-sorry, Teacher. H-he's, he's out of his mind. Sorry."

The boy's body stiffened. He turned around jerkily, inch by inch, and saw Hals standing behind him, with Zhu Xiyan respectfully at his side.

The atmosphere froze. The boy shook violently.

"T-tea, tea, tea..."

Ignoring the boy, who was too scared to speak, Hals tilted his head slightly toward Zhu Xiyan, who looked visibly angry. He felt a flicker of oddness—was it because he and his master had been insulted?

As he pondered, he spoke flatly: "Xiyan, this is the first lesson your master teaches you."

"Boom!"

The Soul Flame in Hals' eye sockets blazed fiercely, radiating endless light and heat. He jerked his head up, and tongues of fire shot half a meter from his eyes. The green flames burst forth, licking past his hood without harming it a bit.

Startled, the boy stumbled back two steps and fell to the ground. He opened his mouth to shout something but was horrified to find that every word that came out turned into meaningless barking.

"Woof, woof, woof!"

The boy's face was pale and twisted with terror.

Only then did Hals finish his sentence slowly: "With strength, you can do whatever you want."

!!!!

Zhu Xiyan felt as if her entire worldview of over a decade had been shattered. Her eyes lit up, sensing that she had unknowingly flipped a switch that might change her life forever.

But she didn't reject this feeling. Instead, she liked it, was excited by it, addicted to it. This feeling was freaking awesome!!!

The Soul Flame in his eye sockets dimmed slightly. Hals cast one last glance at the two terrified boys, then turned and walked away.

"It'll wear off in half an hour. Hmph, consider it punishment for disrespecting your teacher. In an hour, I want to see you at the entrance..."

With a hint of anger and a suppressed half-excitement, Zhu Xiyan glanced at the two, then turned and followed Hals.

"Master, are we just letting them off?" Zhu Xiyan's expression showed a small bounce of joy, and her face beneath her bangs looked much brighter.

Seeing this, Hals paused briefly, his expression odd, but he still maintained his icy demeanor.

His voice was hoarse, but if one listened closely, they could hear something he seemed to be holding back.

"This is the second lesson I teach you. When you can't ensure no one's watching, don't wipe them out completely. If you're forced to act, first, shift suspicion to someone else; second, create another motive for the killing."

This time, it was Zhu Xiyan's turn to be dumbfounded. She just wanted to teach them a bit more of a lesson, but her master was already thinking about killing them off. This was... just too awesome.

Feeling the joy inside, Zhu Xiyan thought to herself: "Looks like taking this master wasn't a mistake."

For the next half hour, Zhu Xiyan followed Hals all over the Simulation Field, dragging out every slacking student one by one and meting out punishment.

During that time, many shot strange looks at her and her master. Zhu Xiyan shook her head disdainfully. Minds full of filth—how could pigs like you ever understand the master's greatness and power?

In just half an hour, Zhu Xiyan was completely won over by Hals' words and actions. She truly acknowledged this cheap master from the bottom of her heart.

Half an hour later, Zhu Xiyan stood expressionlessly behind Hals, hands clasped behind her back, coldly watching her classmates appear one after another. She felt neither joy nor sorrow, but it was visibly clear that her state was tens of thousands of times better than at the start.

Seeing the classmates standing in a messy formation, still with some panic on their faces, Zhu Xiyan frowned before Hals could say a word. Her voice was crisp and cold: "Stand straight. Align front to back. Look at yourselves—you're no different from trash."

What the hell, is that Zhu Xiyan?

That was the unanimous thought of the remaining thirty-four students present. What the hell happened to turn a seemingly insecure and dejected girl into a cold-faced, venom-tongued queen??