Following the three into the small, dimly lit office, Salas greeted each of them with polite courtesy.
Once the door closed behind them, Salas didn't waste any time. Without a word, he released a burst of spiritual pressure.
It was like a mountain crashing down on them—silent, suffocating, merciless. For a moment, the three of them couldn't breathe. Their legs trembled. Their hearts screamed. Then, as suddenly as it came, the pressure disappeared—vanishing like it had never existed.
It took Flender and the others a few moments to realize they were still alive.
Even though Salas hadn't used soul power—only spiritual power—and only for a brief second, it had been enough to bring the three of them face to face with death. A brush, a warning, nothing more. And yet it had left them drenched in sweat, their minds reeling.
Fear gripped their hearts. The pressure may have disappeared, but the lingering fear did not. All three looked at Salas as though he had transformed from a polite guest into something they weren't meant to face.
Salas, unhurried, reached up and removed his mask. A slight, calm smile touched his lips.
"Let me introduce myself again," he said gently. "I'm called Boxuan. Also, Xiao Wu's teacher."
The three looked at one another, silent, pale, sweat still pouring down their faces. They looked like men pulled out of a river—fully clothed and unprepared.
Titled Douluo. The word surfaced in all their minds at the same time.
Zhao Wuji, in particular, felt cold dread settle in his bones. He hadn't forgotten the day he was taught a painful lesson by a Titled Douluo. And now… here was another one.
Flender, meanwhile, was quietly thankful that—for once—he had decided not to provoke someone new. If he had said anything earlier… the consequences could've been disastrous.
Among the three, only Yu Xiaogang looked slightly composed. That wasn't to say he wasn't afraid—he absolutely was. But being Tang San's master, and also rather weak, meant Salas hadn't targeted him directly. When Salas released his pressure, it could be said he spared Yu Xiaogang. Like showing him a single drop from a tsunami..
But even that was enough. A single taste of that power was enough to let Yu Xiaogang feel death standing before him.
"Thank you for teaching Xiao Wu all this time. I'm truly grateful," Salas said warmly, his eyes turning to Yu Xiaogang. "Especially you, Grandmaster. Thank you."
Before the man could react, Salas waved his hand. A soft current of soul power swept over them, drying their sweat and clearing their minds. It was a simple gesture—but it gave them face. And the three of them knew it.
By now, they had managed to collect themselves. But their attitudes had changed entirely. Humble. Cautious. Respectful. Only Yu Xiaogang still sat with a relatively straight back.
Trying to maintain some sense of composure, Yu Xiaogang coughed lightly and spoke. "Your Majesty doesn't need to thank us. It's our duty to teach the students…"
The other two nodded in agreement but remained quiet, silently letting Yu Xiaogang take the lead. After all, he had spent the most time with Xiao Wu.
Salas turned to him with a warm smile, as if he hadn't just made them question their life choices.
"I was occupied with certain matters," he said calmly, "and couldn't teach Xiao Wu myself. I'm fortunate she had someone like you to guide her. She's told me about how well you looked after her back in the Primary Soul Master Academy."
His voice was gentle, his appearance handsome and refined. It was almost hard to believe this was the same man who had nearly crushed their spirits moments ago.
But that warmth served its purpose. In a world ruled by strength, having someone so powerful speak to them with kindness… it soothed their unease and satisfied their sense of self-worth.
Even Yu Xiaogang, long weighed down by his own inferiority, couldn't help but find Salas rather… agreeable.
Compared to some other Titled Douluos who used their pressure as greetings and forced everyone to kneel just to make a point, Salas came off as far more reasonable.
"Haha… Your Excellency is too kind," Yu Xiaogang said, forcing a light chuckle. "I don't deserve to be called Grandmaster by someone like you."
His tone was polite, but the awe in his voice was impossible to hide.
Salas continued, his tone still soft. "Now that I've returned, I'd like to guide her personally for a while… But I understand all of you are planning to move to Heaven Dou Academy?"
And just like that, the conversation naturally shifted to topics like the academy's resource limitations and the Soul Master Competition. Salas nodded, expressing understanding, and did not object to their plans.
He hadn't come here to change their minds. Just to introduce himself.
His real goal was already accomplished: they knew who he was now. They would remember.
Of course, in an ideal world, Salas would have preferred to remove these three and take the Seven Devils under his personal care. It would make shaping them far easier.
But reality rarely cooperated.
He couldn't stay with them for long periods of time, and separating Tang San from Yu Xiaogang might cause more problems than it solved.
"Anyway… I'll just spend these two months with them and build goodwill. If I use immortal herbs, taking them as my disciples will be easy. Even if I don't, once they graduate, I can fool them into following me," Salas thought silently.
He still needed to find time for the Killing God Domain—but that wasn't too troublesome.
Still, there was the matter of helping the Shrek Seven Devils graduate within a year. The only way to achieve that was by giving them immortal herbs—only then could they reach level 40 in time.
And if they couldn't participate in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Competition and win first place, they might refuse to graduate even if they hit level 40.
Everything depended on him now.
Thinking of this, Salas sighed internally. "If possible, I'd rather not go through all this effort. I'd just kill Xiao Wu, Tang San, and the others, and be done with it. But I can't find another candidate who can help Tang Chen pass Asura's eighth trial besides Tang San… Sigh. How troublesome. Not to mention my plans to turn Douluo into my backyard…"
Despite the tangled mess in his mind, Salas maintained the same calm, kind expression on his face—his smile unchanged.
He continued the conversation with Flender and the others, while silently planning far more than he let on.
Eventually, their discussion came to a close on a pleasant note.
The three men stood up, offering respectful nods as they accompanied Salas to the square. It was time to inform everyone of Salas's upcoming stay—two months, perhaps more.