Hearing Tang San express his desire to switch to cultivating the Clear Sky Hammer and seeing the sharpness in his gaze, Yu Xiaogang fell into a contemplative silence.
He understood that the consecutive failures had made Tang San begin to doubt his own talent, strength, and even Yu Xiaogang's teaching abilities.
After a moment of thought, Yu Xiaogang sighed and said, "Xiao San, that Li Xun is indeed somewhat extraordinary, but he is, after all, a level 50 Soul King. It's perfectly normal for you to lose to him.
You must believe in your own talent. You are a once-in-a-millennium prodigy with Twin Spirits. A temporary setback means nothing. As long as you continue to grow, defeating him is only a matter of time.
"If you keep holding onto the idea that you can't defeat Li Xun, your cultivation and confidence will inevitably stagnate over time. By then, forget about Li Xun, you might not even be able to surpass your peers.
"Moreover, through my connections with the sect, I've received news that Spirit Hall's team this time has produced a few exceptionally talented individuals. The Pope and the inner circle of Spirit Hall refer to them as the Golden Generation. The three leaders of this team have all reached level 50 Soul King in their early twenties."
As Yu Xiaogang spoke, a trace of unconcealable disappointment appeared on his face. "Xiao San, do you know? I no longer expect you to win the Soul Master Competition. As long as you can make it to the finals or secure a good ranking, I will be very happy.
"You are still young and have a vast future ahead of you. Don't act impulsively, Xiao San. Be patient. The best time to add Spirit Rings to the Clear Sky Hammer is after you've cultivated the Blue Silver Grass to level 60.
"Adding Spirit Rings to the Clear Sky Hammer too early will only deplete your future potential."
Hearing about the Golden Generation, Tang San was momentarily stunned. He had thought that Li Xun might be the strongest opponent in this Soul Master Competition, but he hadn't expected there to be three hidden Soul Kings.
However, as he considered Yu Xiaogang's long-standing advice, his resolve gradually strengthened.
Tang San steadied his rapid breathing and looked at Yu Xiaogang with determination. "Teacher, even without them, I still plan to switch to cultivating the Clear Sky Hammer. As my Soul Power grows, the weaknesses of the Blue Silver Grass are becoming increasingly apparent. How far do you think I can go with this Martial Soul? How much time do I need to cultivate?
"Adding Spirit Rings to the Clear Sky Hammer now will indeed waste some potential, but compared to time, I believe this is something I can accept."
Seeing Tang San's slightly agitated state, Yu Xiaogang frowned. "What are you trying to say?"
"Teacher, I've thought about it for a long time and have gradually come to understand the reason for my strength. Although I'm not even fifteen yet, I've put in an immense amount of effort into my cultivation. I don't want my efforts to be in vain. The Blue Silver Grass is inherently a weak Martial Soul. What's the point of wasting time on it?"
If it were any other time, Tang San might have been apprehensive at Yu Xiaogang's frown, but now his heart was filled only with the desire to grow stronger. "I am already a four-ring Soul Honour. With just four suitable Spirit Rings, I can elevate the power of the Clear Sky Hammer. This will not only enhance my combat strength but also save me from a lot of meaningless cultivation."
"Teacher, why is Li Xun so powerful? Why did he advance to the Soul King realm earlier than me, who has Twin Spirits? Isn't it because he only needs to focus on cultivating one powerful Martial Soul?"
Yu Xiaogang was momentarily speechless upon hearing this. Indeed, for a long time, he had been fixated on attaching Ten Thousand Year Spirit Rings to the Clear Sky Hammer, but he had forgotten that Soul Masters have an optimal golden period for cultivation.
Wasn't he himself an example of this?
Ever since Tang San accidentally absorbed his eighth-level Soul Power while detoxifying him last time, he hadn't managed to cultivate back even one level of Soul Power in the past two years.
Looking at it this way, if Xiao San continued to cultivate with the Blue Silver Grass, how much longer would it take for him to raise his Soul Power?
Li Xun was already a Soul King, and the enmity between them was significant. Was it really a good choice to so rigidly restrict Xiao San's development?
If he hadn't made Xiao San cultivate the Blue Silver Grass first, would Xiao San already be surpassing his peers by now?
Seeing Yu Xiaogang remain silent, Tang San's voice became urgent: "Teacher, please let me cultivate the Clear Sky Hammer. The Blue Silver Grass is already useless now. Do you really want me to continue down the wrong path?"
Tang San's emotions were stirred, not only because Yu Xiaogang was still rigidly adhering to old methods, but also because of his silence. However, even in his agitation, he retained some rationality and didn't voice his doubts about attaching Spirit Rings to the Blue Silver Grass.
Even so, Yu Xiaogang caught the underlying message. His breathing became slightly heavier, and his expression darkened.
However, considering the effort and time he had invested in Tang San, and comparing it to Li Xun's impressive performance after choosing his Spirit Rings, Yu Xiaogang didn't get angry.
Because deep down, he knew that he might have indeed made a slight mistake in Tang San's choice of Martial Soul.
Yu Xiaogang's expression suddenly turned serious, and he looked at Tang San with a commanding gaze: "Xiao San, don't rush. I need to go out for a while. During this time, don't think about the second Martial Soul. Focus on leading the team and cultivating peacefully. We'll discuss everything when I return."
"You're leaving? Why?" A flash of anger crossed Tang San's dark face. He hadn't expected his teacher to try to escape in order to hinder his cultivation of the Clear Sky Hammer. He was about to say something harsh, but Yu Xiaogang raised his hand to stop him.
"Xiao San, I'm going out to gather more information about Twin Spirits. You must understand that cultivating Twin Spirits comes with risks. The slightest misstep could lead to a fatal explosion. I'm doing this for your safety."
After saying this, Yu Xiaogang sighed, then silently turned and walked toward the door with a sense of melancholy.
"Teacher," Tang San was momentarily stunned, his anger halting, and he felt a touch of emotion. He reached out to stop Yu Xiaogang but didn't know what to say to keep him.
Just as Tang San was lost in thought, Xiao Wu's voice suddenly came from the doorway.
"Teacher, please let me take the field. Brother Heng and the others' injuries will take at least two more days to heal. Right now, I'm the only one who can relieve some of the pressure on Brother San."
Yu Xiaogang frowned as he looked at Xiao Wu's pleading expression: "Xiao Wu, I thought I made myself clear to you last time. There are many Title Douluos in Heavenly Dou City now. What you're proposing is very dangerous."
Xiao Wu fell silent for a moment, then her eyes gradually grew resolute. "Teacher, those powerful figures wouldn't have the leisure to watch the matches of juniors except during the opening ceremony of the preliminaries. For the sake of the team, I'm willing to take the risk."
The Soul Master Competition was in full swing, and the opening ceremony of the Heavenly Dou Team had only heightened the excitement. The Great Spirit Arena, with its eighty thousand seats, was nearly filled to capacity every day.
Unlike the first day of the competition, four additional arenas of the same size had been set up around the central area.
Whenever Li Xun appeared with the Heavenly Dou Team, the enthusiasm of the audience would always reach its peak. However, this fervor would quickly dissipate as Li Xun strolled around the Soul Arena.
Li Xun was also quite helpless about this.
Except for a few strong teams, such as the Five Element Academies, most of the teams participating in the preliminaries would immediately concede as soon as they saw him take the stage. No one wanted to risk their future matches over a single win or loss.
After all, every team might lose a match at some point, right? So why not just treat the qualification spots as four?
"Li Xun, I know you're strong, but our Shenfeng Academy team might not necessarily lose to you."
Li Xun looked at the strongest simp among the juniors in Douluo and was amused. "You're Feng Xiaotian, right? I've heard of you."