Tang San's Weakness
As Hu Yanzhi was injured, and not lightly at that, others quickly rushed to rescue him.
Now it truly became a case of besieging reinforcements. Tang San reacted instantly, launching his third spirit ability: Blue Silver Hurricane Array. In an instant, multiple students from Elephant Armor Academy were wrapped in Blue Silver Grass. Surprisingly, the Blue Silver Grass now had a faint green hue, and the tips were as sharp as blades. Despite the students of Elephant Armor Academy having strong defenses, their bodies were left with countless wounds.
Dai Mubai also launched his fourth spirit ability, White Tiger Meteor Shower, at the same moment. Four Spirit Elders from Elephant Armor Academy were knocked to the ground under the flurry of attacks.
However, the other two Spirit Ancestors, Hu Yanba and Hu Yanshan, simultaneously activated their fourth spirit ability, Mighty Guidance, to protect Hu Yanzhi. In major sects, people with the same spirit often have similar abilities. This is a matter of inheritance within each sect.
As more people swarmed to attack again, the previously injured Hu Yanzhi roared. A terrifying energy burst from his head, sending the four Shrek team members flying. Yang Xiong, responsible for protecting the two support members, didn't rush to attack.
Hu Yanzhi's head emitted golden light, as if he were wearing a helmet, with two tusks protruding from it.
Everyone present couldn't help but swallow hard. A head spirit bone. Judging by the glow and power, it likely wasn't a low-grade one, probably at the ten-thousand-year level. It was the first spirit bone to appear in the entire tournament.
Yang Xiong snorted coldly but didn't move. He continued to stay beside the two support members.
Hu Yanzhi, Hu Yanba, and Hu Yanshan then activated their third spirit ability simultaneously: Death Suppression. The entire arena shook as a strong pressure enveloped everyone. Even those relatively far away—Yang Xiong, Ning Rongrong, and Oscar, felt the intense strain.
The appearance of the head spirit bone shocked the entire audience. Ning Fengzhi couldn't help but smile and say, "Patriarch Hu Yan, your grandson is truly gifted. To already possess a head spirit bone at such a young age... his future is limitless."
Hu Yanzhen just snorted and said nothing more. Spirit bones are treasures in the world of spirit masters. His grandson was only at level 43, and revealing such a spirit bone in public easily invited covetous intentions.
Under the effect of Death Suppression, especially with three Spirit Ancestors using it, the pressure on the Spirit Elders was tremendous.
Unfortunately for them, the Shrek team had undergone rigorous training. Such broad-area abilities couldn't easily take them down.
Especially Hu Yanzhi, even though his head spirit bone was powerful, he had already used three spirit abilities. His remaining spirit power wouldn't be much.
Oscar quickly handed out his Super Recovery Sausages. After eating them, everyone recovered some spirit power, and with Ning Rongrong's support abilities, they continued their assault on the three members of Elephant Armor Academy.
Although Tang San was a Spirit Elder, his combat strength matched that of a Spirit Ancestor. Dai Mubai's power was also formidable.
Several minutes later, the last member of Elephant Armor Academy finally fell, and Shrek won the match. But facing three Spirit Ancestors showed everyone what real pressure was like.
However, it was clear to any discerning observer that Shrek's victory came largely from a complete tactical advantage. Tang San's control performance wasn't especially impressive, in fact, he even revealed a major flaw. If it hadn't been for Yang Xiong being significantly stronger than Hu Yanzhi, they could've been broken through directly. At least the two supporting Spirit Elders couldn't have stopped a Spirit Ancestor like Hu Yanzhi on their own.
As everyone stepped down from the stage, Oscar let out a sigh of relief and said, "Brother Xiong, good thing you were there. Otherwise, Rongrong and I would've been in real danger. That big guy was scary."
Yang Xiong smiled, "Aren't I the defense-type spirit master now? My job is to protect the support members and maintain formation."
Ning Rongrong muttered, "If you had gone on the offensive earlier, maybe those brutes would've been defeated much faster. No need for so much trouble."
Yang Xiong only smiled and didn't respond. He never wanted to participate in the tournament in the first place, he had no desire to risk his life for some championship.
Although they had defeated the powerful Elephant Armor Academy, Tang San didn't say much afterward and showed no interest in the other matches. Instead, he quietly left with Yu Xiaogang.
Yang Xiong, meanwhile, was dragged off by Ning Rongrong to go shopping. With his straightforward personality, he truly didn't understand what was so fun about shopping for girls.
Seeing Tang San's somewhat frustrated expression, Yu Xiaogang tried to comfort him, "Xiao San, don't overthink. You performed very well in this match. At least your combat ability isn't inferior to Hu Yanzhi's."
Tang San shook his head. "Teacher, I'm aware of some things. Even though we won this round, my Blue Silver Grass was clearly restrained."
"For opponents with strong physical bodies, the toughness of my Blue Silver Grass just isn't enough. It's hard to effectively control them. My self-created abilities offer some advantage but only barely bridge the gap between a Spirit Elder and a Spirit Ancestor. They can't achieve absolute suppression."
Yu Xiaogang quickly said, "Xiao San, don't dwell on it. You're still young and have a long future ahead. Don't forget, your true strength lies in your second spirit, the Clear Sky Hammer. Only when you begin adding spirit rings to it will your full potential emerge."
Tang San asked doubtfully, "Teacher, why don't you and my father let me add rings to the Clear Sky Hammer? I could become so much stronger."
Yu Xiaogang gave a bitter smile. "Twin spirits are extremely rare. Your talent is even higher than I imagined. But the biggest drawback of having twin spirits is the risk of mutual rejection if trained simultaneously, which could lead to your body exploding."
"All these years, I've tried to analyze and research this, but I still haven't found a way to solve the issue. This may be the greatest mystery in spirit master history."
Tang San fell silent at his words.
...
Yu Xiaogang once said that control-type spirit masters had the highest combat potential among all spirit types. But the flaw in Tang San's Blue Silver Grass was obvious, its lack of toughness and its weakness to fire and ice made it easy to counter. Compared to top-tier spirits, the difference was still too large.
Even though Tang San had shown great skill recently, his high combat power came mainly from his self-developed spirit abilities and not from the Blue Silver Grass itself.
In the spirit master tournament, information was highly transparent. Every spirit master's strengths and weaknesses were magnified many times. Strong teams would thoroughly analyze every opponent and prepare accordingly, it was, after all, a prestigious event held once every five years.
Compared to Tang San's pride, others seemed happier, especially the girls. Beating a powerful team like Elephant Armor Academy at such a young age made them feel like celebrities.
After the match with Elephant Armor Academy, many teams quickly began analyzing Shrek's weaknesses.
Though still undefeated and yet to face any veteran powerhouse teams, Shrek led all the academies with their perfect record, drawing more targeted strategies from opponents.
In the following matches, opposing teams often sent out tool-type or fire-attribute spirit masters. Under such targeting, Tang San's control ability seemed increasingly limited.
Everyone knew Tang San was the tactical core of the Shrek team. Most strategies originated with him. If his control via Blue Silver Grass was neutralized, it disrupted the entire team's synergy, forcing Shrek into head-on clashes and making them prone to traps.
The result: each battle became a grueling war of attrition, with both sides suffering heavy losses before Shrek could eventually claim victory.
Ironically, the biggest advantage of the Shrek team wasn't Tang San or Dai Mubai, but rather their two high-level support spirit masters.
One day, the group watched the battle between Blazing Academy and Water Mist Academy. Both were top-tier teams with powerful combat ability. Water Mist Academy had even easily defeated Elephant Armor Academy, leaving the Shrek team deeply concerned.
Watching the match, Tang San asked, "Teacher, their coordination is good, but I don't see any supports like Rongrong or Xiao Ao. Do they not have any support-type spirit masters?"
Yu Xiaogang shook his head. "The Elemental Academies are all veteran teams. Their basic rule is to focus on a single element. Like the Elephant Armor Academy you fought, they had seven members with the same spirit. No supports, not even an agility-type fighter."
Tang San was surprised. "Teacher, I've been reviewing that match. Their team style seems completely different from ours. They appear to prefer pushing a single attribute to the extreme."
"I've also observed the Five Elemental Academies closely. They don't seem to coordinate between different spirit types. Their strengths are obvious, but so are their weaknesses."
Yu Xiaogang said, "That's the difference between two schools of thought in the spirit master world: the extreme-type and the balanced-type. Our team represents the balanced type, with every kind of spirit master represented."
Tang San pondered, "Don't the elemental academies try to compensate for their weaknesses?"
Yu Xiaogang fell silent for a while before answering, "Each academy has its legacy and backing. Elephant Armor Academy is supported by the Elephant Armor Sect. Thunderclap Academy has its own backers..."
"These years, apart from the Five Elemental Academies, no other strong teams have emerged in the Heaven Dou Empire. This year, the Royal Academy has done well, but compared to the Star Luo Empire, they emphasize the balanced type more. Their spirit masters coordinate better."
Tang San asked, "What about the Spirit Hall?"
Yu Xiaogang gave a bitter smile. "Compared to the two empires, the Spirit Hall has taken spirit master research further. They train individuals under the extreme model and teams under the balanced model. I call it the fusion model. Honestly, I think that may be the strongest system."
Tang San said, "That's so selfish of the Spirit Hall. Haven't they considered publishing these theories? It would help the whole spirit master world grow."
...
Others agreed with him, but Yang Xiong and Ning Rongrong were speechless. As members of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, they had far more knowledge and experience.
Anyone with insight knew that coordination improved effectiveness, especially with top-tier support spirits like the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.
But for students, their combat power was still low, and their experience shallow. If they couldn't maximize their spirit's potential, it would only hinder their future cultivation. Let alone the Five Elemental Academies, how could there be fire- or lightning-attribute support spirit masters? Even control-types were rare.
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