With the end of March, this year's Continental Advanced Academy Soul Dueling Tournament had also come to a close, and once again, Spirit Hall claimed the championship.However, unlike in previous years when Spirit Hall relied on one or two powerful Spirit Kings to dominate through brute force, this time their championship team did not include a single Spirit King. Instead, they were all Spirit Masters, and they secured victory through seamless teamwork and strategic coordination.
For example, in the match between the Spirit Hall team and the Holy Dragon Sect—who had reached the finals this year—the Spirit Hall members all substituted in team members with flying abilities. This tactic effectively drained the spirit power of the Holy Dragon Sect disciples.Although some might call it shameless, it was undeniably effective.The martial spirits of the Holy Dragon Sect were all White Armored Earth Dragons—extremely strong in defense, second only to the Elephant Armor Sect—but entirely incapable of flight.Moreover, one Spirit Master on the Spirit Hall team had a spirit ability that released mist, the effects of which were similar to an ecstasy drug... making it nearly impossible for the Holy Dragon Sect disciples to resist.
In the Spirit Master Competition, it was strictly forbidden to use anything beyond spirit abilities—no external drugs allowed.Unfortunately, none of the Holy Dragon Sect members had any abilities capable of neutralizing the effects of the mist.As a result, their loss in the final felt humiliating, but they couldn't accuse the Spirit Hall of violating the rules. After all, who told them to rely entirely on ground-based martial spirits, while the Spirit Hall had flying specialists and even a spirit that could produce hallucinogenic mist?
This incident highlighted a major disadvantage of relying on a single martial spirit. Once your weakness was discovered, it could be exploited ruthlessly.In the past, spirit masters across the continent tended to favor head-on combat, flaunting their strength and never considering the idea of swapping out team members to exploit tactical advantages within the rules.Now, that old mindset had been challenged.
Just as the major sects and noble families across the continent began to dissect and analyze Spirit Hall's tactics, Spirit Hall surprised them by publicly releasing a theory authored by Tang San.This act stunned the many factions still poring over battle footage and strategies.While they were still racking their brains to figure things out, Spirit Hall simply published the answer.What was their motive? What medicine was Spirit Hall selling in this gourd?
Despite their suspicions, everyone rushed to buy a copy of the Spirit News.This particular issue was noticeably thicker than usual, as it temporarily set aside its usual miscellanea to make room for a full publication of Tang San's groundbreaking "Spirit Master's Self-Positioning Analysis Theory."
The theory's author had systematically classified the seven primary spirit master types: assault system, agility attack system, defense system, auxiliary system, control system, healing system, and food system.The assault system was further divided into close-combat control and long-range output.The agility attack system was broken down into assassination interference and full-field detection.The defense system included physical and energy defense.The control system was separated into direct and indirect types.
As for the remaining categories—auxiliary, healing, and food—the author chose to group all three under the auxiliary system. He argued that forcibly dividing them by whether their spirit could heal or provide nourishment was unnecessary. After all, weren't both types offering support?If a food system spirit master's ability also provided healing, should they be categorized as food-type or healing-type?
Some people had raised these questions before, but no one had organized the information so thoroughly until now.And now, with the Spirit Hall's official endorsement and continent-wide distribution, this classification was sure to change the spirit master world.
It could be said that the theory's author—Tang San—had become famous across the continent overnight.However, Spirit Hall only listed the name of the author. There was no portrait, no age, no detailed background, leaving the major factions puzzled about who Tang San really was.
In their private discussions, many concluded that Tang San must be a seasoned theorist, someone immersed in spirit research for decades—surely a scholar in his fifties at least.
"Uncle Gu, who do you think this Tang San is?"
At the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Fengzhi placed the Spirit News on the table and mused aloud,"This analysis is so well-formulated that most spirit masters can now accurately assess their role based on the characteristics of their martial spirits and abilities. It not only solves the long-standing confusion of civilian spirit masters regarding their positioning, but also guides them on spirit ring selection…In the future, the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Dueling Tournament will truly become a clash of titans—each team displaying its unique strengths."
Bone Douluo glanced over the newspaper, lost interest in the dense text, and set it aside.He still offered a comment:"This Tang San is at least better than that so-called Master. He included plenty of examples and honestly credited predecessors. He didn't claim all the theories as his own, stating clearly that he was just a lucky man standing on the shoulders of giants, a mere summarizer."
Sword Douluo picked up the paper and nodded as he read:"Not bad. This Tang San is humble and meticulous. His descriptions of each case are objective, and even his speculations are clearly labeled as 'unverified, proceed with caution.' That alone helps prevent blind misinterpretation."
"Dad, what are you reading?"
Ning Rongrong had just returned from a soul hunt. She ran into the living room, jumped into Ning Fengzhi's lap, and glanced at the newspaper in Sword Douluo's hand.
"Rongrong is back," Ning Fengzhi said, patting her head with a smile."Was it dangerous, your first soul hunt without your father and your two grandfathers?"
Originally, Ning Fengzhi had intended to accompany Ning Rongrong.But just then, the Haotian Sect received an uninvited visitor: Tang Hao, the Haotian Douluo.He came to question the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect about something stolen from him.
To avoid a potential conflict that could result in property damage or injuries to sect members, the sect temporarily sent its talented disciples out of the area.Coincidentally, Ning Rongrong had just reached rank ten, so they arranged for a Spirit Saint and twenty-nine other spirit masters to escort her on the hunt.Mu Tian was also included in the group as a gesture to foster relations between him and Rongrong.
Unfortunately, Rongrong wasn't interested in Mu Tian.
Fortunately, Tang Hao left peacefully after failing to locate the stolen item.
At this moment, Mu Tian entered the living room and bowed respectfully to Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo, and Bone Douluo.
"Mu Tian, who hurt you?"
Bone Douluo's martial spirit was the Bone Dragon, while Mu Tian's martial spirit was the Earth Fire Lizard—similar in attributes. Because of this, Bone Douluo had taken Mu Tian as his disciple.But now, Mu Tian looked pale, and his spirit power was clearly unstable.
Who dared offend someone from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?
"Grandpa Bone, he brought this on himself," Ning Rongrong said before Mu Tian could respond."He picked a fight for no reason, challenged someone, and lost—to a very handsome young man."
Ning Fengzhi raised an eyebrow, intrigued."Oh? And who is this handsome young man? Did Rongrong invite him to visit the sect?"
"I did invite him. But hmph! After losing, Mu Tian couldn't accept it—just because the other guy was a commoner. He even threatened to kill him."Rongrong recounted the event in detail, with plenty of praise for Tang San and evident disdain for Mu Tian.
Bone Douluo gave Mu Tian a strange look, coughed, and said:"If you lose, you lose. What's the big deal? Just win next time. You have to be more open-minded."
"I..."Mu Tian wanted to say that the young man was Tang San—the son of the Haotian Douluo. But considering the delicate relationship between the three upper sects, he bit his tongue.If Ning Fengzhi knew, he might invest in Tang San early—and that was the last thing Mu Tian wanted.
In his mind, thanks to the butterfly effects of time travel, Tang San hadn't taken Yu Xiaogang as his teacher, and his talent had become even more terrifying.What's worse, his false humility made him all the more despicable.If he kept earning gold soul coins by selling hidden weapons, how many more cultivation resources could he buy?
Perhaps, before Mu Tian even became a Titled Douluo, Tang San would have already left him far behind.