That night, Yu Xiaogang approached Tang Hao.
Compared to his arrogance in front of others, in front of Tang Hao, Yu Xiaogang lowered his proud head and adopted a fawning expression.
"Your Majesty Haotian, why don't you just demote Ma Hongjun to a substitute? According to the competition rules, each academy can have a maximum of four substitutes."
A team with more than ten people means greater costs, so the number of players in a typical team, including substitutes, is generally limited to around ten.
Unless there are special arrangements or to strive for a higher ranking, no team would be willing to support an extra player.
Tang Hao glanced at Yu Xiaogang and said coldly, "Just follow my decision. The rest is not your business."
"Yes, yes, I'm being nosy," Yu Xiaogang said with an apologetic smile.
He then pulled a note from his spirit guide. "Your Majesty, this is my plan for Xiao San's fourth spirit ring. Please review it."
Tang Hao glanced at it. "You're thoughtful."
After all, theory wasn't his strong point. Blue Silver Grass was a useless spirit. Before Han Yu's academic opinion was published, there was no record of Blue Silver Grass cultivation on the mainland. Furthermore, the Clear Sky Hammer spirit was taboo on the mainland. If it were exposed before Tang San had fully developed, it would be certain death.
All these factors combined forced Tang Hao to allow Tang San to train with Yu Xiaogang.
Of course, if he had known, he would never have allowed Tang San's Blue Silver Grass spirit to pursue a control-type path.
"Your Majesty, call me anytime if you need me. I'm always here." With a final word, Yu Xiaogang left the room.
Tang Hao was extremely pleased with his performance.
This was exactly the kind of capable person his Tang family needed. Any more self-righteous individuals would have been eliminated by Tang Hao!
...
In the Canaan Academy Dean's room.
Han Yu sneered at the report before him. "Tang Hao, do you think no one would know you were hiding in Shrek Academy?"
To keep tabs on Tang San and the others, Han Yu had gone to great lengths to plant an undercover agent within Shrek Academy.
"By the time you figure out who the undercover agent is, it'll be too late."
This dog-eat-dog dynamic was truly exhilarating.
Han Yu wasn't the only one doing this sort of thing; other academies had also attempted to plant undercover agents within Canaan Academy, only to be eliminated one by one by Han Yu.
The next morning, a carriage secretly departed from Shrek Academy, bound for Sunset Forest.
Inside, Tang Hao and his son were undeniably present.
"Xiao San, what are your thoughts on the fourth spirit ring?" Tang Hao asked.
Even with Yu Xiaogang's notes, he still wanted to hear Tang San's opinion. After all, having studied under Yu Xiaogang for so long, he wanted to test his knowledge to see if he was truly giving it his all!
Tang San replied, "Baba, my Blue Silver Grass spirit is a control line spirit, so spiders and hardy plant spirit beasts are my primary considerations."
"But, Baba, my fourth spirit ring wants to absorb a 6,000-year spirit ring!"
"What!" Tang Hao said angrily, "Xiao San, is that what Yu Xiaogang taught you? Do you know the consequences of absorbing spirit rings above your level?"
Tang San knew all too well. When he absorbed that 2,000-year-old human-faced demon spider, if a mysterious force hadn't intervened at the last moment, he would have exploded and died!
But he also had his reasons for absorbing spirit rings above his level.
"Baba, my Blue Silver Grass spirit has suddenly become weak and powerless for some reason. Moreover, this Spirit Master Competition involves my mother's spirit bone, and I don't want to miss out on the championship due to lack of strength,"
Tang San said with a determined look.
But Tang Hao still refused.
He already had a plan for the spirit bones, and letting Tang San participate in the spirit fighting was simply to ensure he had no regrets.
Tang San spoke again, "Ba Ba, my third spirit ring is a two thousand year old spirit ring. I've proven that skipping spirit ring levels is possible. And this six thousand year old spirit ring is what I believe is the most suitable age for me."
"Xiao San, what's going on? Did Yu Xiaogang let you absorb your third spirit ring?" Tang Hao grabbed Tang San's hand and asked.
If that were the case, then there was no need for Yu Xiaogang to keep it.
Skipping spirit ring levels? Isn't that a clear sign of wanting Tang San dead?
After some explanation, Tang Hao finally understood the situation. "Xiao San, if I'm not mistaken, that Titan Ape must have known Xiao Wu. But that time, you had a blessing in disguise. But who can guarantee that you'll have the same luck after absorbing the 6,000-year fourth ring?"
"Teacher said the most important thing about absorbing a spirit ring is to withstand the impact of spirit power. I'm sure I can do it."
"Nonsense! If it were a ten-thousand-year spirit ring, you wouldn't be able to withstand the shockwaves of your spirit power. You'd bleed to death!" Tang Hao suddenly said.
Yu Xiaogang had never absorbed a ten-thousand-year spirit bone himself, so he was completely unaware of this.
Tang San was shocked when he heard this. However, he still tried to explain that he wasn't ready to absorb a ten-thousand-year spirit ring yet, and it was understandable that Yu Xiaogang hadn't mentioned this.
After a long conversation, Tang Hao couldn't persuade Tang San and finally agreed to his request.
"Hey, Xiao San, a six thousand year spirit ring is a six thousand year spirit ring. With Ba Ba here, even if you fail to absorb it, Ba Ba has the ability to stop you."
"Thank you, Ba Ba, I will definitely succeed."
To increase the chance of success, Tang Hao chose a plant-type spirit beast for Tang San.
The reason was simple: plant-type spirit beasts are more compatible with Tang San's martial spirit, and they are also easier to find.
Plant-type spirit beasts under a hundred thousand years old are unable to move on their own.
Tang Hao took to the air and quickly found a suitable spirit beast.
"Xiao San, since your Blue Silver Grass martial spirit is relatively soft, let's choose this iron thorn wood."
"Ba Ba, that's it," Tang San agreed. The
iron thorn wood was indeed hard enough, and after absorbing it, the Blue Silver Grass martial spirit would also become slightly harder.
Facing a six thousand year old plant-type spirit beast, Tang Hao didn't even use his martial spirit, simply uprooting it.
After all, in his original time and space, he could beat Zhao Wuji to a pulp without even opening his martial spirit, so what was a mere six thousand year old spirit beast?
"Xiao San, kill it quickly!" Tang Hao shouted hurriedly as he threw the iron thorn tree in front of Tang San.
Plant-type soul beasts are different from animal-type soul beasts. The easiest way to kill them is to destroy the roots.
But the roots of the iron thorn tree are extremely stiff. Tang San spent a lot of effort before he succeeded.
The deep purple soul ring floated in the air. Just as Tang San was about to absorb the soul ring, he was pulled by Tang Hao, "Xiao San, give up immediately if you can't hold on. Once your soul power is too deeply connected to the soul ring, if I forcibly disconnect it, it will damage your foundation. Do you understand?"
Tang San nodded heavily, then sat down cross-legged and moved the soul ring to his martial soul.
Tang Hao stepped aside and quietly protected Tang San.
Suddenly, a bright light came from the iron thorn tree.
(End of this chapter)
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