Chapter 38: Become a Disciple
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Faced with the lava rushing towards him, Walter simply smiled and stretched out his hand, his five fingers spread open. He inserted his fingers into the lava and gently blew a breath, causing the scalding lava to cool down and turn into black, steaming stones.
Yan Jin's pupils constricted as she watched the scene before her in disbelief.
"Child, you should learn to respect the strong."
As soon as he finished speaking, a terrifying pressure swept over them.
This soul pressure was so terrifying and violent, like a mountain collapsing, like a tsunami.
Yan Jin and Lei Yin were forced to kneel on the ground, cold sweat dripping from their foreheads. They wanted to resist, but they couldn't control their bodies at all. Their legs trembled uncontrollably, and even standing up was a luxury. Their hands were soft and weak, and they couldn't even clench their fists.
Yan Jin's face was filled with horror. She had thought she was a small expert, but she never expected that in front of a true expert, she wouldn't even have the right to stand.
This pressure crushed her pride and her complacency.
She bit her lip, drawing blood.
Walter looked at Amon, who was still calm and collected, with some surprise, and asked, "You don't seem to be affected?"
Powerful soul power can suppress a person's spirit and body, and this pressure is also a manifestation of the "expressiveness" of soul power.
When such "expressiveness" acted on Amon, it became an object that his first soul skill could select. In theory, Amon could be unaffected by the aura of any soul master.
In fact, the Worms of Time parasitizing Yan Jin and Lei Yin could also "steal" the host's soul power expressiveness, but Amon deliberately let Yan Jin suffer a little lesson, so he didn't help eliminate the pressure they were under.
Yan Jin was too reckless. This punch made him feel a sense of urgency.
"I have special coping skills," Amon replied with a smile.
Walter didn't intend to investigate further and said softly to Yan Jin, "Remember, don't rashly launch an attack on a soul master who is much stronger than you. It will cost you your life."
Yan Jin pouted and remained silent.
"I apologize for my sister's recklessness," Lei Yin said with a deep bow.
Amon pinched his monocle and clicked his tongue, asking:
"Then, to get back to the main topic, Lord Walter, a big figure like you shouldn't be so bored as to make things difficult for us, right?"
Walter stroked his beard and looked at Yan Jin, saying, "Of course not. This is tempering, and also a test… I have been paying attention to your growth.
"You are a very excellent child. You rejected me back then, but you also showed your character of valuing relationships.
"But everyone needs to bear the price for their choices. Since you chose to reject me at that time, then I will not provide you with resources or help you grow.
"What pleases me is that even without the help of others, you have not disappointed your talent and are still shining brightly.
"Mi Zonglan reported your situation to me, so I set up this test.
"The robbers on your road were all arranged by me. They were originally 'operating' in other places, but I caught them and told them that if they could kill you, I would spare their lives.
"Your performance is satisfactory, no, it can be said to be amazing!"
He clapped his hands in admiration, "Yan Jin, now I ask you again, are you willing to be my disciple?"
Yan Jin looked at Amon, opened her mouth, but said nothing. After a long silence, she weakly said, "Is it that if I don't become your disciple, the Beidi Academy won't accept us, and Ma Wen will be detrimental to my younger siblings?"
Walter shook his head and said, "No, who would force others to be their disciple?
"I want to find an heir, not cultivate an enemy!
"Even if you refuse now, the Beidi Academy will still welcome you to enroll, and the Ice Bramble Chamber of Commerce will restore its friendly relationship with you… I will no longer interfere with you.
"Everything that happened today is just that I want to remind you that without any background, even if you have talent and ability, you may not be able to stand out.
"You need a supporter, just like you used to find Ma Wen to 'invest' in you. Now, you can also try to let me become your backer."
Yan Jin said stubbornly, "I already have a teacher, it's Amon… Thanks to his care all along, I have been able to get to where I am today."
Walter's gaze turned to Amon, who smiled faintly.
Even if Walter hadn't approached them, he would have found someone similar. Now, Ma Wen could no longer provide them with help, so Amon needed a new "Ma Wen".
As for whether the new "Ma Wen's" needs were to accept disciples, make transactions, or something else, Amon would not refuse. He was still weak, and obtaining sufficient resources and growing faster was his pursuit at this stage.
Walter's active arrival was exactly what Amon expected.
First of all, this solved a hidden danger. He no longer had to consider the potential threat of the Soul Douluo who once wanted to accept Yan Jin as a disciple but was rejected.
Secondly, the energy of a Soul Douluo was large enough. By relying on his wings, he would not need to change his backer for a long time in the future.
However, this seemed to cause a little emotional harm to Yan Jin… This was not unacceptable.
In practical terms, becoming Walter's disciple was not bad for Yan Jin herself. And Yan Jin's interests and Amon's interests were bound to a certain extent.
Amon pinched his monocle and said:
"Yan Jin, I am just your mentor in the academy, an ordinary teacher-student relationship, not the kind of master-disciple relationship that inherits the mantle.
"Although I admit that I am your teacher, I have never admitted that you are my disciple, right? At most, I said that you are half my disciple…
"The disciple that Walter is talking about is someone who can inherit the path and continue the will… Do you think I need you to continue my soul master path?"
"But… but…" Yan Jin's nose felt sour, and her eyes were a little red.
She really regarded Amon as her teacher, as the person she respected the most. Although she usually called him Amon, Amon, and didn't seem to have any respect at all, deep down, she was very dependent on him.
Ignoring Yan Jin, who was about to cry, Amon looked at Walter:
"Mr. Walter, the master chooses the disciple, and the disciple also chooses the master. This is a two-way process.
"Are you really prepared to teach Yan Jin? Do you have ideas for her future development direction? Do you understand her martial soul characteristics?
"You must know that the master cannot pass on his power to the disciple, and more importantly, the teaching of knowledge."
Walter pondered for a moment, then nodded and said:
"I have my own set of teaching theories… I am not a research-oriented soul master, nor do I have extensive knowledge. To be honest, I am not very good at teaching in the traditional sense.
"However, although the master's power cannot be directly passed on to the disciple, it can bring resources, and then use the resources exchanged for this power to promote the disciple's growth. This can be regarded as indirectly passing on power."
Amon raised an eyebrow. This old man had something to him. He used honorifics in his address:
"A very advanced theory. You must also be a very excellent educator… Yan Jin, I think that under the cultivation of Lord Walter, you can become a Soul Elder better and faster."
When he said the second half of the sentence, he turned to look at Yan Jin.
Yan Jin was still immersed in the loss of not being recognized by Amon. Hearing him say this, she looked at him with pitiful eyes and said despondently:
"If this is your decision, I am willing to accept it."
Walter could see that Yan Jin was still a little unwilling, but he didn't care. He was thinking about how to make her agree with him as soon as possible and willingly recognize him as her master.
After all, such a good seedling comparable to the "Golden Generation" was rare.
Yan Jin followed the ancient tradition, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed to Walter three times.
Walter smiled with satisfaction, "Good, good, since you have become my disciple, then now, accept my first lesson."
Lei Yin looked at his sister with heartache. He knew the sadness in Yan Jin's heart, but Walter was so impatiently putting on the airs of a teacher, which made him a little angry.
These chapters may not be clear enough in my description, which has caused some readers to misunderstand.
Walter did not directly threaten her with Yan Jin's family. He was just preventing others from showing kindness to Yan Jin, cutting off her friendship with others, and making her feel the helplessness of not having a backer or background and being unable to move forward.
Yan Jin entrusted her younger siblings to Ma Wen, both to ask her to help take care of them and to show her sincerity in cooperation. Originally, even if she could not fulfill the initial agreement and could not participate in the Soul Master Competition, Ma Wen would not force her. Because Yan Jin was already strong enough, forcing her to work under her was not necessarily a good thing for Ma Wen. Ma Wen would still treat her "friendly".
But because of Walter's pressure, Ma Wen could no longer treat her kindly, so when Yan Jin could not enroll in school and could not pay the promised return, she would act according to the agreement and "remind" Yan Jin to come to work. And the safety of her family was Yan Jin's handle, and it was a guarantee that she would obediently fulfill the agreement. In fact, Yan Jin and Ma Wen knew this from the beginning. As long as Yan Jin did not first break the agreement and return to Frost Leaf City to work for Ma Wen, her family would still be safe.
So what Walter implicitly used to threaten Yan Jin was not the lives of her family members, but the bright future she might have, the life opportunities to stand out from the Soul Master Competition, which did not cross the bottom line.
Moreover, this also strengthened a truth that Walter wanted Yan Jin to understand, that is: with a good master, your future will be brighter.
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