Supreme Master: Cultivation Starts After Recruiting SSS-Grade Talent-Chapter 48 - 4th Disciple

Su Jie had experienced a lifetime’s worth of hardship.

He had walked through blood-soaked battlefields, survived assassination attempts by rival sects, and even fought off a rampaging spirit beast with his bare hands. Betrayals by those he once called brothers had hardened his heart.

But in all his forty-plus years of cultivation, not once had his senses betrayed him the way they did now.

He stared at the scene before him, trying to make sense of it.

A young man, barely in the Qi Refinement stage, sitting calmly with three Golden Core cultivators standing behind him like loyal guardians. Worse still, they addressed him as "master." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

There was no hint of mockery in their tone, no pretense in their body language.

If it weren’t for the serious, unwavering expressions on the faces of those three Golden Core disciples standing behind Xie Ren, Su Jie might have dismissed the entire thing as some ridiculous prank.

There was simply no world where a Qi Refinement cultivator could command the loyalty and respect of three powerful Golden Cores.

He kept his tone even. "Little friend, may I ask... who is this fourth disciple you speak of?"

Xie Ren didn’t even blink.

"She’s standing right in front of me."

Su Jie’s breath caught, and slowly, his gaze shifted to the girl at his side.

"Roulan...?" he whispered.

His daughter looked up at him, startled. Her lips parted slightly, confusion filling her eyes.

"You must be joking," Su Jie said after a long pause, his voice tight.

"My daughter... she can’t cultivate. Her meridians are..." He swallowed hard. "Broken."

The word left a bitter taste in his mouth. Saying it aloud felt like admitting defeat, not just as a father, but as a cultivator who had failed to protect the one thing that mattered most to him.

He looked away, eyes cast down, ashamed.

Across the room, Xie Ren let out a soft hum, waving his hand as if brushing aside a leaf.

"Broken meridians?" he repeated, as if the words held no weight at all. "A minor issue."

Su Jie’s raised his head up.

For a moment, he couldn’t respond. Had he misheard? Was this some kind of cruel humor?

The way the youth leaned back in his seat, relaxed and completely unconcerned, spoke volumes. He wasn’t trying to boast, he simply didn’t see it as a problem.

Su Jie’s heart clenched. He had searched far and wide for a cure. Pill masters, spirit doctors, ancient scrolls, nothing had worked. And here this boy was, treating it like a scraped knee.

The room had gone completely silent. Even the wind beyond the windows seemed to pause, as if curious to hear what would happen next.

Su Jie’s gaze sharpened. His spiritual sense stirred beneath the surface, still unable to detect anything unusual about Xie Ren’s cultivation.

Qi Refinement, clear as day. No tricks, no seals. Then what was he missing?

"Little Friend Ren..." Su Jie said slowly, keeping his emotions tightly in check. "You speak with confidence. I do not wish to question your sincerity, but..."

His voice dropped a little. "Are you truly saying... you can heal her?"

Xie Ren nodded calmly, as if everything had already been settled deep inside him. It was as if he had already made a decision that nothing could shake.

"Of course," he said with a steady voice, "but there is one condition."

Su Jie’s brows knit tightly. "What condition?"

"She must accept me as her master."

The room seemed to hold its breath, the sudden silence was tense. Su Jie’s sharp eyes narrowed as he carefully studied the young man standing before him.

Years of battles, political intrigue, and sect management had taught him how to read people, how to sense if someone was bluffing or hiding their true strength.

Yet here was this boy, a mere Qi Refinement cultivator, standing confidently as if having three Golden Core disciples behind him was the most normal thing in the world.

Su Jie wanted to laugh at the arrogance. He almost wanted to shake his head and dismiss this as foolish pride.

But those three women were no pretenders. He could feel their power radiating off them like a fierce storm.

If such strong cultivators truly regarded this young man as their master, then either the world had gone mad or Xie Ren was far more than he seemed.

Still, how could he hand over his daughter, his precious, fragile daughter, to someone he knew so little about?

Yet if there was even the smallest chance, the tiniest hope that Roulan could walk the path of cultivation again...

Before Su Jie could speak, a soft but firm voice cut through the heavy silence.

"I’m willing."

Su Roulan stepped forward, her small hands coming together in a respectful cup. "If you can heal me, I will become your disciple."

Su Jie spun toward her, shocked. The determination in her tone surprised him.

Roulan didn’t fully understand where this mysterious young man had found the boldness to call her broken meridians a "trifling matter." But if there was even a faint chance, one path to a future beyond her shattered fate,she would take it without hesitation.

She needed strength. Not just for herself, but to stop being a weight on her father’s shoulders. To one day stand proudly beside him, no longer the helpless girl she once was.

"Then let us begin the master-disciple ceremony," Xie Ren said, his voice smooth and formal.

Roulan hesitated for barely a moment. Then she lowered herself slowly to her knees before him.

"Disciple Su Roulan greets Master."

The moment her words echoed through the quiet guest hall,

Ding!

A translucent golden panel shimmered into view before Xie Ren’s eyes.

[Ding! Congratulation to the host for successfully accepting Su Roulan as a disciple.]

[You have received the SSS-Grade Disciple Gift Pack!]

[Cultivation: +20 Levels]

[Luck Points: +5000]

[Reward: Mystic Physique Evolution Elixir ×1]

[Reward: Divine-grade Technique – Master of Winds ×1]

...

[Displaying Disciple’s Information...]

[Name: Su Roulan]

[Talent: SSS-Grade]

[Identity: Descendant of the Blue Phoenix Empress]

[Special Physique: Blue Phoenix Nirvana Body (Sealed)]