They stopped chattering after hearing Wu Shan's question. It would take them several minutes until one of them finally opened their mouths to say something. And the first one to do so was actually Yan Yao.
"I never thought that you'd say something as outrageous as that. Please d-" She said, before Wu Shan put his left hand's palm forward.
"I'm gonna stop you there. If you think I'm lying, it would've been much more obvious than that." he said as he took another sip from his cup with his other hand.
He then puts down the cup, and made some gestures. He created a small, invisible ward around them that encapsulated them and their table. It was only slightly visible for less than a second, and then it became invisible. Mo Cai's eyes were basically sparkling, while Meng Jia looked slightly nervous. Ding Xiao kept on a poker face, though he's probably nervous as hell. Yan Yao's complexion went slightly pale.
"First of all, this is not a dangerous ward, I assure you. It's to keep what I say from any prying ears. This was something that I found while reading some stuff back in my family's library." Wu Shan said, practically making an excuse to cover up the fact that he learned it from the LoE.
Both Meng Jia and Ding Xiao looked visibly relieved. Yan Yao's posture slightly relaxed, though it was clear she was still cautious about Wu Shan. Mo Cai was still gleeful, with a smile at her face from the sight of the ward, as she nodded furiously with excitement.
"Okay, now you're all at least slightly calmer. Great. Now let's get to the main point." Wu Shan said, quickly taking a sip from his cup and put it down once more.
"I want to train you guys under me. It's not for any sort of unjust or evil purpose. In fact, it's for the survival of this city." He explained, before continuing, "This is highly classified, but some time in the future, this city will once again suffer a siege by the demon beasts. But this time, it would spell the end of the city if you guys aren't strong enough by then,".
The four people were visibly shocked this time.
"Wait, how can you tell?" Yan Yao said, frowning while crossing her arms.
"Is this some sort of a joke?" Meng Jia followed suit, with a visible fright on his eyes.
"..." Ding Xiao was speechless. He was shivering.
"Master! I wanna get stronger to not let that happen!" Mo Cai said, with a determined face while having a gleeful smile plastered on her, and some sparkles on her eyes.
"Let's just call this... Something like an unnerving information from an anonymous source. I tried to trace the source, but I failed. However, I managed to, at least, confirm some parts of it. And... It's bad. Really bad." Wu Shan said, making another excuse to mask how he even knew about it.
"How bad?" Yan Yao asked. Her expression showed him that she was already calculating the information into her head.
"For now, the city might survive, albeit being a pyrrhic victory at best. But as to several years from now? Cataclysmic. We'll lose the city." He answered, with a serious face.
"..." Yan Yao kept silent, while closing her eyes and considering her answer.
Aside from Mo Cai, who would agree to be trained by him, the remaining other two were visibly worried, and quickly nodded after thinking about it for a little. The only one left was Yan Yao.
"How can I believe its credibility?" Yan Yao asked.
"You don't have to. It's entirely up to you. However, let me say this: I never joke around when it comes to this kind of topic." He answered with a straight face.
"..." She was silent before saying, "Fine. I'll throw in my lot with you,".
Clap clap!
He clapped his hands.
"Thank you. Now, I need you to do something for me." he said before bringing out some unused soul crystals.
"Here are some soul crystals. They're fresh, and nobody has used them. Inject your Soul Force into the crystal, so I can see your Soul Sea Type, as well as its Form and Attribute as well." he explained as he handed each crystal to the four of them.
'Soul Form?'
'Soul Attribute?'
They were confused by those two terms in their minds, though they somewhat understood what he meant by Soul Sea Type. Although he didn't have to do this, given that he already knew it from the LoE, he simply did it to show them that what he's about to give them will be tailored to, or at least similar to, their particular cultivation.
The first to do so was Ding Xiao, surprisingly. The silent boy injected his Soul Force into the crystal. It shone as it shows them the three information that he had said previously, though they didn't know what he meant.
"Ding Xiao... Your Soul Sea Type is Orange, while your Soul Attribute is Gold and Soul Form is Thundercloud, huh..." Wu Shan said after observing Ding Xiao's crystal, pretending to be surprised.
'God Tongue is technically possible for either him or Mo Cai... But for this kind of thing, I guess I'll give him the Red Thunder Sky Fire Tactics.' He thought.
'Though neither the novel or the manhua ever explained on the specifics about why it's considered to be overbearing, but I suppose given that the nature of the Gold Attribute that's probably defensive, it should be good for him.' He continued thinking before finally deciding on the technique of choice for Ding Xiao.
"Okay, given your Attribute and Form, I'm gonna teach you the Red Thunder Sky Fire Tactics!" he exclaimed.
"Red Thunder Sky Fire Tactics? What's that?" Mo Cai asked.
"Yours will be different. This one is for him because of his Soul Form and Attribute. We'll see about yours later after it's your turn." Wu Shan said, sighing before turning towards Ding Xiao. The boy kept his silence, though his excitement was visible, albeit only to Wu Shan.
"I'll warn you beforehand. This technique is not a cakewalk. You will be pressured by this technique, and it could even damage your meridians. But, as they say, the harder you work, the greater the boon you will receive in the end." Wu Shan said.
"Now, memorize the chant that I'll say after this." he continued as he taught the boy of the first part of the technique.
As Ding Xiao muttered the chant with almost no sound heard, he could feel his soul power immediately increasing.
"You can continue practicing after you get home. However..." Wu Shan said, before continuing, "Do not tell anyone of what we've discussed here or what I've taught you, or you're gonna have a problem with me,".
They all nodded, and the next one in line was Meng Jia. He injected his Soul Force into the crystal, and it displayed the results.
"Okay... No Soul Form, but a Yellow Soul Sea Type and Dark attributed..." Wu Shan said.
'No Soul Form... His Soul Sea Type is better than Nie Li, but since he's Dark attributed, I'm not sure if I should give him one of the Heavenly Techniques that Nie Li considered to use during the start of the storyline...' he thought.
'Geh, he's a troublesome one. I mean, it wouldn't harm to give him the Heavenly techniques, but... Considering the kind of person he is, it's just not worth it. He won't be able to withstand the pressure... Wait, there's that one. I don't know if he'd do well, given that this was just a theoretical technique, but it should suit him just fine.' He pondered and then decided.
"Okay, I'm gonna give you the Consuming Void Technique!" he said to Meng Jia.
"This one's a bit tricky, but this is quite powerful like Ding Xiao's." he then explained the summary on the technique.
After that, he gave him the first few parts for memorization and later cultivate.
Mo Cai jumped from her seat and then went for Wu Shan. She was like a puppy, waiting to be given her treat.
"Geez, slow down. Just do it like the others, and I'll give it to you. No need to worry that you won't get one." he said to her, while getting her off him.
"Hmm... Green Type, Lightning Attribute, and... Winged Dragon Form?!" he shouted, pretending to be shocked.
"Does that mean that I'm good?? Am I a genius? Am I? Am I? Am I?" she asked with a fervor look in her eyes.
"... In a sense, yes." Wu Shan said.
'She's like Xiao Ning'er. Though too bad, her attribute's the typical kind of Lightning, not Wind Lightning. I would've given her the Lightning Dragon Technique in a heartbeat. Still, at least there's the God Tongue. Good thing she's known to be sincere in everything she does.' he thought.
'Though, I still don't get on the naming. Why is it even similar to the Nakiri Family's special skill from Food Wars? Weird.' he pondered before making the decision.
"This technique is extremely powerful. If I'm not wrong, it's the God Tongue Technique." he said to her.
"Woah! That sounds so powerful! Teach me! TEACH ME!!!" she shouted, shaking Wu Shan so much that he almost went dizzy.
"Okay, okay. Settle down. Here's the chant. Memorize it and cultivate it later. Remember what I said. D-" he said before he got interrupted by Mo Cai, who said, "Don't tell anyone about this or anything that we talked about today! Yeah, I got it, Master!".
She then walked back to her seat, with her excitement blowing through the roof. The last one is Yan Yao. She injected her Soul Force and gave the crystal that showed the results to Wu Shan.
"Cyan Type? Wow. Though too bad about the Form, it's a Red Sun. Chaos Attribute, eh, I guess it's okay." he said before pondering.
'Chaos and Red Sun... She's light-years ahead of Lu Piao. Yep, just give her that technique.' he immediately decided.
"Here's one for you: The Holy Primal Chaos Technique. Just like before, I don't need to remind you of what I said, yes?" he said to her.
"I know. Nobody will hear anything from me." she nodded as he then gave her the chants.
After several minutes of giving them their respective cultivation techniques, he then also taught them to train their physique as well, especially for Yan Yao and Ding Xiao. Both of them will be pressured to keep up in not only Soul Force, but even moreso their physique as well.
"For Mo Cai and Meng Jia, do at least 100 push-ups, sit-ups and 10 km of running everyday. As for Ding Xiao and Yan Yao, you guys will do at least 500 reps of the first two and 50 km of running. It may seem extreme, but if your body can't keep up with your cultivation... It will explode." he explained.
"Also, don't forget to adjust your diet menu, or in other words, you food and drinks. I'm giving you guys some money to buy some balanced meals, as in a certain amount of rice, meat and vegetables, along with some fruits. You can say to your families that you'll be training to make yourselves stronger, so you need to have these kind of food." he further said.
They all simply nodded as he gave each of them 1000 demon spirit coins. After they put it away, he then gestured with his hands and dispersed the ward.
"Okay, now that we're done, you guys can go home. If you have any other questions, you can ask me when we're in class, before the period starts." he said to them as he stood from his chair.
They followed suit, and said their goodbyes for the day, as each of them returned to their own places. Meanwhile, Wu Shan returned to his place in the city, a two-story house with walls and a gate.