Two days later, somewhere in the Sunset Forest.
Tang San slowly opened his eyes, letting out a long breath. His gaze swept forward to see Yu Xiaogang sitting cross-legged on a mat, smiling back at him. A smile rose on Tang San's own face as he stood, patted the dust from his pants, and strode forward.
"Xiao San, how is it?" Flender leaned over before Yu Xiaogang could speak, asking first.
"Rank 42." Tang San smiled.
"You actually advanced two ranks!" Flender was surprised, then sighed. "No wonder—absorbing a soul ring beyond your level."
'It should be from back when I devoured those three Soul Kings after breaking through rank 40. Their energy must have left traces behind.' Tang San thought.
The Widow Spider, also called the Red-Spotted Ghost Spider, was a top-tier poisonous soul beast. Its strength and speed weren't bad either. The soul ring he absorbed came from a 6,200-year-old Widow Spider. Yet the energy it contained didn't feel like it should raise him two whole levels.
There was no doubt. The extra boost came from those three Soul Kings he had devoured.
"And the soul skill?" Yu Xiaogang asked calmly, nodding slightly.
"Blue Silver Poison Mist." Tang San turned, smiling. "It lets me release the toxins in my Martial Soul as a poisonous mist. In battle, I can make it erupt from any Blue Silver Grass vine, even the parasitic seeds."
Before, the poison only seeped out passively. Now he could release it actively. That was the difference.
Active release meant the toxins and parasitic spores were faster, more widespread, and far more dangerous.
Yu Xiaogang nodded. "A more aggressive attack skill. Good."
"Good, very good." Flender smiled as well.
'Yang Yunhai, your Martial Soul is immune to fire, immune to ice. But can you be immune to poison?' Tang San sneered inwardly.
"Since we've achieved our purpose, we should return." Yu Xiaogang said evenly.
"Teacher, please wait a moment." Tang San suddenly said. "The Widow Spider's corpse still holds plenty of venom. I want to use my Eight Spider Lances to absorb and store it."
"Go ahead." Yu Xiaogang nodded.
Tang San didn't hesitate, running back and driving his Eight Spider Lances deep into the corpse. The pure vitality rushed into him, giving him an involuntary shiver of pleasure.
"My cultivation rose a little again..."
Before long, Liu Erlong carried Yu Xiaogang, while Flender carried Tang San. The four of them rose into the sky and flew toward the forest's edge.
One day later, they returned secretly to the academy by night.
"Third Brother!" Xiao Wu's face lit up when she saw him. She rushed forward and threw herself into his arms.
Tang San smiled gently, patting her head. Then he looked up at Dai Mubai. "Mubai, how's the competition been these days?"
"No strong opponents." Dai Mubai nodded. "Xiao San, how about you? How much progress?"
"Rank 42," Tang San replied.
"You advanced two ranks!" Dai Mubai was startled. Then, realizing something, he asked, "Xiao San, you absorbed a soul ring beyond your level?"
Tang San nodded. "Yes, a 6,200-year Red-Spotted Ghost Spider."
'So Yang Yunhai said before that Blue Silver Grass would lose its potential if it absorbed animal-type soul rings—was that all nonsense?' Tang San thought. 'Yang Yunhai's Martial Soul techniques, I've seen them with my own eyes.'
Ning Rongrong stayed silent.
She knew Yu Xiaogang had comforted Tang San by claiming Yang Yunhai's strength came entirely from rare immortal herbs. But in her heart, she understood—even without those herbs, Yang Yunhai's mastery of his Martial Soul was something Tang San could never match.
Yet Tang San himself refused to acknowledge this.
'The one who pretends to sleep can never be awakened... I finally believe that now.' she sighed inwardly.
"Third Brother, amazing!" Ma Hongjun chimed in with flattery.
"Not bad, Third Young Master!" Tai Long followed up.
"Xiao San, impressive!" Oscar gave him a thumbs up.
Tang San smiled. "It's all thanks to Teacher's training methods. They greatly increased my body's strength."
Yu Xiaogang couldn't help showing a satisfied smile at that.
'Heavens, let this Soul Master Tournament end quickly,' Ning Rongrong groaned inwardly.
The next day, Heaven Dou City, Great Spirit Arena.
Yu Xiaogang's eyes gleamed as he strode into the rest area with Liu Erlong.
"This afternoon, we face Thunderclap Academy."
He calmly revealed the draw results.
Hearing this, Dai Mubai smiled faintly and patted Yu Tianheng's shoulder. "Tianheng, today's your time to shine!"
Yu Tianheng clenched his fist, looking at everyone seriously. "Thank you, everyone."
The team all smiled back, the picture of harmony.
In the Heaven Dou Royal Academy's rest area, Meng Shenshou also brought their draw results.
"Captain, who do you think will win?" Yu Feng asked.
Thunderclap Academy had four Soul Ancestor. Their strength wasn't bad. But since they hadn't fought them yet, they didn't know their real power.
"What's the point of asking? We'll know this afternoon." Dugu Yan said flatly.
"True." Yu Feng nodded.
That afternoon, the main arena.
"Preliminaries, round 25, match 6—Shrek Academy versus Thunderclap Academy!" the announcer's clear voice rang out amid cheers.
Both teams walked out from opposite tunnels as the introductions rolled.
Soon, Tang San, Xiao Wu, Yu Tianheng, Dai Mubai, Tai Long, Huang Yuan, and Jiangzhu stood on one side.
After formalities, the referee gave the word. Both sides instantly released their Martial Souls.
"Tang San broke through to Soul Ancestor?!" Seeing the four rings beneath him, many in the audience gasped.
"Was his fourth ring from a plant beast or an animal beast?" Yang Yunhai narrowed his eyes.
'What a pity, I missed the chance…' he thought, sighing.
According to information Dugu Bo somehow obtained, Tang San had left for his soul ring the day after Shrek lost to Skywater Academy. The excuse was that the seven-in-one Fusion Technique had forced open his bottleneck. Without hindsight, Yang Yunhai hadn't expected it to be so fast.
He had thought Tang San's injuries would keep him down until after the preliminaries.
'His hunger for power is stronger than I imagined…' Yang Yunhai admitted. But he also had to concede—Tang San's timing had been good. Dugubo would've guarded him, and Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo had been present at the arena that day.
'Sigh. Next time, I'll need to push harder, let them come to me. Trying to guess his timing and location is too unreliable.'
The referee announced, "Begin!"
Jiangzhu immediately raised her staff. "Second Soul Skill, Healing Formation!"
"She's worried Thunderclap Academy's lightning attacks might leave lingering injuries, so she activated healing early," someone in the stands speculated.
"A cautious move. A good choice to field a healer like her."
"Third Soul Skill, Thunder Fury!" Yu Tianxin roared, his body sparking with lightning. He charged straight toward Yu Tianheng.
"Third Soul Skill, Thunder Wings!" From behind, Thunderclap's only flyer, Lei Tianzhen, took to the air.
"Third Soul Skill, Spider Web Restraint!" Tang San flung out blue light, aiming at Lei Tianzhen.
"Fourth Soul Skill, White Tiger Meteor Shower!" Dai Mubai abruptly stopped, hurling volleys of white spheres skyward.
Yang Yunhai's eyes narrowed. 'They're covering Tang San's third skill.'
"Using his fourth skill just to cover? That's costly," Yu Feng muttered.
Up above, Lei Tianzhen dodged the light balls with flapping wings. Meanwhile, vines shot from the blue glow, spreading out to form a web that fell over Thunderclap Academy's ground team.
"Annoying!" Yu Tianxin dodged sideways, his dragon-clawed arm slashing through a vine.
"Fourth Soul Skill, Blue Silver Poison Mist!" Tang San clenched his fist, and thick violet-black fog spewed from the vines, enveloping Thunderclap's fighters.
Even Yu Tianxin got a faceful before he could react.
The crowd stirred. A never-before-seen ability was always the most dangerous. Tang San's fourth skill had caught them off guard.
"Poison mist?" Yang Yunhai frowned slightly.
'That won't work on me at all.'
"It's poison!" Yu Tianxin's face darkened. His body crackled with lightning. "Second Soul Skill, Fifteen Ton Thunder!"
Bolts arced over him, burning away much of the poison fog. Still, some traces lingered. Compared to fire-type attacks, lightning lacked coverage.
"Cover your mouths and follow me!" Yu Tianxin roared, his left hand clamped over his nose as his right arm swung. "Fourth Soul Skill, Blue Lightning Dragon Assault!"
The poison mist and vines before him burst apart, leaving a hole. Yu Tianxin bolted through—only to see Shrek's team linked hand to shoulder, channeling their soul power into Jiangzhu, who pressed her hands against Yu Tianheng's back.
"Not good...!" Yu Tianxin coughed.
"Captain!" his teammates staggered behind him, feeling the same. The poison had already gotten into them. It wasn't lethal, but enough to weaken their strength.
"Fourth Soul Skill, Thunder Eagle!" Lei Tianzhen dove, wings summoning a massive eagle made of lightning.
"First Soul Skill, Thunder Dragon Claw!" Yu Tianheng's dragon claw lashed out, shattering the eagle instantly.
"Tianheng, it's all yours," Dai Mubai said, retreating with a smile.
Tang San also withdrew, smiling faintly.
"Third Soul Skill, Thunder Fury!" Yu Tianheng's chest blazed with arcs of electricity. His aura exploded, stronger than ever.
"It's a Fusion Technique!" Yu Tianxin's jaw clenched as Yu Tianheng charged.
Yang Yunhai shook his head. After this, Tang San will only get more arrogant.
With Thunderclap's team poisoned and weakened, they couldn't stand against a Yu Tianheng boosted to Soul Emperor level. His dragon claws swept out, his every strike unstoppable. Soon, Thunderclap's team lay sprawled on the ground, defeated.
"Shrek Academy wins!" the referee declared.
"Xiao San," Yu Tianheng called softly.
Tang San understood, releasing his Eight Spider Lances and rushing over to draw the poison from Thunderclap's team.
Yang Yunhai and Ning Fengzi both frowned at that.
'This Yu Tianxin is Tianheng's rival. His elder's faction has always opposed Tianheng's succession. Well then, I'll help Tianheng further.' Tang San smirked inwardly, and while purging the poison, he quietly siphoned small portions of their vitality.
The pure life energy filled him, making his body tingle with comfort. He couldn't resist taking more.
After a while, he did the same to the others—subtle, just enough to avoid notice. Then he retracted his Eight Spider Lances and rejoined his team.
'This way, Tianheng's position as heir is secure,' he thought smugly.
"Let's go." Dai Mubai patted Yu Tianheng's shoulder with a grin.
When the preliminaries ended, with Fusion Techniques built around him, defeating Dai Weisi would be easy.
"Cough..." Yu Tianheng clutched his chest from that pat, hacking softly.
"What's wrong? Overexerted?" Dai Mubai teased.
"A bit." Yu Tianheng smiled bitterly. "My whole body aches."
"No problem." Dai Mubai nodded. "Once Jiangzhu recovers her soul power, have her heal you. Then eat one of Oscar's sausages, you'll be fine."
"Mm." Yu Tianheng nodded faintly, following his teammates toward the tunnel.
(End of Chapter)
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