"You scored seven points higher than me—did you deliberately add a few points?"Xiao Wu looked at Tang San's Blue Silver Grass soul report with suspicion.
"I was very objective."Tang San rolled his eyes. "Just like the life energy my Blue Silver Grass comes with—it can already break through the number 5 that I set. Otherwise, it would be even higher."
Xiao Wu also knew that Blue Silver Grass had strong vitality and pointed to the energy stat."Why is the energy of your Blue Silver Grass zero? Isn't your first soul skill full recovery?"
"This is the soul's state excluding soul ring soul skills," Tang San explained."If we count the soul skills, the workload becomes too big, and we can't figure everything out at the moment. So it's better to keep it simple."
"So that's how it is."Xiao Wu suddenly understood. "Now that we've figured out our soul advantages, we can look for targeted soul beasts when we get our next soul rings, right?"
"That's the idea."Tang San gave her an approving look. "You're not just playing around."
"Hmph, if I use my brain, you won't be able to catch up with me!"Xiao Wu raised her chin proudly, delighted by Tang San's praise. She shot him a glance, clearly asking for more compliments.
Unfortunately, Tang San ignored her and continued,"In soul master training, there are many approaches—but the soul master world can generally be divided into two major schools."
Xiao Wu asked, "Which two?"
Tang San answered, "Balanced flow and extreme flow—or, also called ultimate flow."
"What's the difference?"
"Just listen to the names. Balanced flow means each soul ring's skill covers a different aspect, diversifying the soul's abilities.Extreme flow—also called ultimate flow—focuses on amplifying one defining trait of the soul."
He explained in more detail:"The balanced flow focuses on being well-rounded. Jack of all trades, master of none. If the soul itself isn't outstanding, it will rely heavily on soul power and a few powerful soul skills to carry it later. More than 90% of soul masters on the continent walk this path—including two of the top three sects: the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan."
"Top three sects?" Xiao Wu interrupted.
"I'll talk about that later."
Tang San continued,"The extreme flow school enhances the soul's standout features. Take my Blue Silver Grass: its vitality is exceptional. So when I select soul rings, I'll look for soul beasts with particularly strong life force. Plants or animals—it doesn't matter, as long as vitality is high."
"After all, my Blue Silver Grass martial soul isn't just the common Blue Silver Grass. As long as the soul beast's attributes match, there won't be a conflict. Still, if I find a suitable plant-type soul beast, I'd prefer that over an animal-type."
"You also saw that while I belong to the auxiliary system and follow the extreme flow, I can still use Blue Silver Grass leaves for control like a control-type soul master—and even weave them into whips for mid- to long-range attacks like an assault-type."
"Therefore, the so-called balanced and extreme flows are just general directions. Ultimately, it depends on the individual's decisions and usage. Both have advantages and disadvantages."
Xiao Wu asked,"What about the ultimate flow? Is it really just another name for the extreme flow?"
After observing Tang San's precision in explanations, she knew he wouldn't mention it separately if it were merely a renaming.
"Yes," Tang San nodded, "but I highlight it separately because within the extreme flow, there's a special subset."
"These soul masters choose the same type of soul beast for each ring, strengthening a single trait to the utmost."
"For example, the Speed Clan's sharp-tailed swallow soul. When they select soul rings, they only choose high-speed swallow-type soul beasts—like sharp-tailed swallows, wind-and-rain swallows, swift king swallows—all extremely fast but non-aggressive."
"The soul skill they acquire is always the same: speed boost."
"Now imagine—if one of them becomes a Titled Douluo with nine rings, and each soul skill is speed boost... How fast do you think they'd be?"
Xiao Wu thought for a moment, then tentatively asked,"Faster than ordinary Titled Douluo?"
Tang San shook his head."The current clan leader of the Speed Clan is a Soul Douluo. According to a book given by the Spirit Hall on interesting soul master cases, he once flew from the southernmost to the northernmost point of the Douluo Continent in seven days."
"An ordinary Titled Douluo under level 95 would need three months of full-speed travel to cover that distance."
"Even if it's from a miscellaneous book, no one on the continent refutes it. That alone proves the clan leader of the Speed Clan is astonishingly fast—he has already surpassed many Titled Douluo in that regard."
"If a Min Clan soul master ever reached the level of a Titled Douluo and you gave him a small blade, he could assassinate any soul master below level 95."
Xiao Wu exclaimed,"Then he's invincible?"
"How could he be invincible?" Tang San rolled his eyes."He's part of the Speed Clan, and he has a whole family to manage. If he dared to do assassinations, the Spirit Hall would destroy them without hesitation."
"After all, the Speed Clan used to be a subsidiary of the Clear Sky Sect. The Clear Sky Sect offended the Spirit Hall and is currently in seclusion. The Spirit Hall has been suppressing those four affiliated sects, even trying to subdue them—and if they can't, they destroy them. They're just waiting for an excuse."
"You've been living in a greenhouse. Do you really think the continent is peaceful?"
Xiao Wu's face turned red."I'm not a pampered girl!"
"Yes, yes, yes, you're not..." Tang San played along, but didn't say the second half aloud:You're just a sunny, cheerful big white rabbit protected by the Sky Blue Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape.
"Hmph!"Xiao Wu was annoyed by Tang San's dismissiveness but only snorted coldly.
"Next, I'll give you a lesson about the powers on the Douluo Continent—so you don't accidentally offend someone, get punished, and come crying to me for help."Tang San was ready to share insights about the continent's power structure, so Xiao Wu wouldn't remain clueless and easily deceived.
"Would you save me?" Xiao Wu asked with hopeful eyes that sparkled like rubies.
Tang San was unmoved."Depends on what you're offering in return."
"Why are you like this—so greedy!"Xiao Wu pouted, turning her head away in anger—but still sneaking glances at Tang San to see if he would comfort her.
"My family's poor," Tang San said, shrugging."And I'm just your classmate. It's already generous of me to help you analyze your soul's strengths and weaknesses."
"If someone helps you for free, you need to be careful. I'm not saying there aren't good people out there—but most likely, it's because ordinary people fear your soul master status and feel forced to help."
"And as for soul masters stronger than you—or high-status nobles—they're probably interested in your body, or your talent. But ultimately, it's about your body. You're a woman, and many would try to make you bear children for them, whether openly or secretly."
Xiao Wu trembled at the thought of such a horrible future."How can people be so awful?"
"Sorry. Most people aren't that bad—it's just that you're too naive. Not the kind of naivety born from being spoiled and arrogant, but the kind that comes from living your life deep in the carefree mountains and forests."
(The following is a more objective analysis.)
The Spirit Hall cares greatly about its reputation. In the original account of its destruction of the two major sects, it relied on surprise attacks and ambush tactics.
If it had been a head-on confrontation, even though the sects were outmatched in strength, casualties wouldn't have been so heavy. If they couldn't win, most of them could have escaped.
After all, the Spirit Hall also has an Elder Hall—or more accurately, a Worship Hall—where even Bibi Dong has limited authority.
Until Bibi Dong fully consolidated her power, she needed plausible pretexts for every move she made.
This world is ruled by the strong—but not in the absolute sense... not until one becomes a god.