Chapter 227 Standing Out? It's Easy...

After all, this team included big names from different clans, even the headmaster's granddaughter. Yet it was still William's team, and that was worth more than all their names and reputations combined in the eyes of the Long clan's younger generation.

"Easy there," William waved with his hands to calm down the anxious kids in front of him, "I'm just asking you to make this offer to those you truly trust. Even if we ended up getting five more, even if we ended up getting none at all, I'm cool with any of that."

He was indeed telling the truth. In their eyes, they cared about numbers, and in his, he cared about the quality and calibre of those he'd train.

After all, what he was going to do was something ground shaking and like a once in lifetime chance to change one's future.

And he wouldn't do such a major favour just to anyone.

"This…"

"You don't want us to just speak with all we know?"

"What if the ones we truly trust aren't available? What if they are already following other masters?"

"I don't want anyone, I want those you trust, and they have to be talented as well," William had to stress over this point, "and I have to make it quite clear… Them joining us isn't permanent or set in stone or something like that. I'm going to watch their performance during our mission, and many won't join us in the end."

"..." his words left them all speechless, even John didn't know what he should say. They mistook his intentions and thought like anyone in their shoes, about quantity rather than quality.

But William didn't just want anybody to join his team. He wanted those who would stick to his side, fight for the sake of humanity when the sky would crumble and start to fall.

The last thing he'd ever want to see would be the presence of a bunch of cowards or weak hearted spirit masters by his side, ones who'd prefer to work their legs and run as far away from trouble rather than using their arms to solve any crisis befalling them.

But it was really hard to tell what the essence of anyone was, especially if William didn't know them. So, he decided to use the upcoming trip as a test for all of them, see what they were truly like, and decide who was going to stay and who was going to leave.

All of this looked like a complicated and farsighted vision, one that wouldn't be grasped easily by the kids sitting in front of him.

"I'll do my best then," Sara paused before adding, "but… We need something to make our team stand out."

"What do you mean?" William asked, and she looked at others while Peter added, explaining her point:

"This idea isn't novel. In fact, there are lots of people dreaming about forming such teams, and so there are many teams," Peter paused, before adding, "we need something to convince those we know to join. After all, anyone capable will want to stick to a strong powerhouse… Join a place which will give him more benefits and support…"

The hints in his words were clear. He wanted to say that William was just nobody. Even if he managed to create a miracle before in jumping from a porter to be a bronze spirit master directly, and even if he played a role at the Long clan's coming back from death at that grand battle as rumours described, he still didn't have a name for himself yet.

Sara wanted to say all this, and yet she couldn't bring herself to say such harsh words directly in his face! And that was different from the dilemma Lang was thinking about.

The latter knew more than others sitting here about how truly special William was. And even if he knew many of his clansmen would ask to join the team, William's last words made the list of people he could speak to quite narrow.

William was seeking quite capable and trustworthy dudes, ones without any speck of doubt over their names and reputations, not to mention their unquestionable talents.

If he went on and added all the ones he knew from the clan, William might end up disqualifying them in the upcoming test trip. And that would backfire, not only on William, but also towards him as well!

"People tend to lean towards the towering trees," William was well aware of what they struggled to express, fearing about hurting his feelings, "be it wealth, strength, or even fame, one must have any so others will follow… This is the sacred rule of the world."

They looked at him in silence, including John. They couldn't agree more to his words, but what he said didn't solve anything.

And he wasn't finished with what he wanted to say.

He already thought about this dilemma before. He had two options in front of him, either teach those who'll get offered a technique to lure them in or use another method.

He didn't want to teach anyone anything without getting them tested first. William planned to meet them up, talk and get to know these kids first, watch how they'd react to the various and troublesome battles they'd face before he'd make up his mind.

"I already got something that can make many drool and crave to join us," William said such mysterious words, before taking out four items, placed them on the table in front of them.

"These…"

"No way! These…"

"Aren't they the legendary scarlet bears dark gold cores?!!!"

The one who got to correctly identify them was Lang. After all, his clan got tons of these cores, and he got to see many of them before.

Seeing such cores appearing on the table made them all feel their heart palpitate. Even Sara, who seemed to own the entire world, knew how precious such cores were.

"One for each one," William got satisfied with their reaction.