...
Just as the situation at the Tiandou Royal Hotel was progressing smoothly, an hour later, at the Blue Tyrant Academy...
After receiving Xuan Hao's secret "tips," Old Titan rushed over in a hurry and is now searching for Tang San all over the academy.
At this moment, Tang San was sitting alone on a huge rock behind the academy, his brows furrowed.
Last night in the cafeteria, Ning Rongrong and Dugu Yan's scathing critique of Yu Xiaogang was like a demonic chant echoing in his mind.
If we set aside the emotional filter of the master-disciple relationship and examine it solely from a purely rational and pragmatic perspective...
Tang San had to admit that although the girls' words were harsh, they were all very insightful.
Yu Xiaogang doesn't seem to offer him much practical help now.
Tang San would not deny that the basic theories of martial spirit taught by his teacher over the past six years had enlightened him.
However, if we were to insist on saying how much his theoretical knowledge improved his practical skills...
There's no need to deceive yourself.
To put it bluntly, all that vast amount of theoretical knowledge is like a chicken rib to him now—tasteless to eat but a pity to throw away.
It has some use, but not much; it's practically dispensable.
Back then at Notting Academy, he had just been reborn into the completely unfamiliar world of Soul Masters.
Because he knew nothing about anything, and because of the uniqueness and potential dangers of his twin martial souls, he decided to become Yu Xiaogang's apprentice with the mindset of seeking a safe haven and a guiding light.
But so many years have passed in the blink of an eye.
He had been patiently enduring and diligently cultivating the Blue Silver Grass, which was considered a "useless martial soul" by the world.
However, he never used the "Clear Sky Hammer" martial soul, which he had always kept hidden and which possessed terrifying destructive power, because of his teacher's warning.
Previously, in the remote city of Nottingham, he only came into contact with the lowest-level commoners in the world of Soul Masters.
The quality of their Martial Souls was generally mediocre, at most they were useless Martial Souls like scythes and hoes.
If we had to pick the best among the worst, only Xiao Wu's "Soft Bone Rabbit" martial soul is of decent quality.
But it's only good; it's not a truly top-tier martial soul at all.
In that small pond, relying on the advantages of Tang Sect's unique skills and innate full soul power, Tang San naturally felt superior to others and had no clear concept of the difference in the quality of martial souls.
However, upon arriving in Soto and witnessing a wider world, everything changed.
He came into contact with more truly talented Soul Masters.
Dai Mubai's "White Tiger" and Ma Hongjun's "Evil Fire Phoenix"—these top-tier beast martial souls made him feel the pressure at the bloodline level for the first time.
But what shocked and alarmed him the most was Yu Tianheng, whom he encountered in the Soul Arena.
The Soul Master who possessed the "Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex" spirit displayed terrifying speed, explosive power, and pure destructive force, making Tang San truly realize a cruel reality:
In the world of Soul Masters, the so-called difference in Soul Power level can often be completely erased by the powerful quality of the Martial Soul itself and the suppression of bloodline!
Even so, Tang San wasn't actually too anxious at the time.
After all, Yu Tianheng is a power-attack type Soul Master, and in the Douluo Continent system, power-attack types are inherently countered by control types.
Even if Yu Tianheng had a powerful attack, he would not be able to unleash his full strength in front of this control-type soul master who had endless tricks up his sleeve.
However, Tang San also knew very well that without using hidden weapons and Tang Sect's secret techniques, his fragile Blue Silver Grass was equally helpless against Yu Tianheng's extreme speed and power.
From that time on, Tang San would often find himself thinking about it late at night:
If... if he were cultivating not this damned, weak and powerless Blue Silver Grass, but that so-called "Haotian Hammer", would the situation be completely different?
Previously, he only felt that the hammer in his left hand was heavy and special, but he didn't know exactly what made it special.
But now, he knows his origins, he knows that it is the inherited martial spirit of the Haotian Sect—the number one weapon martial spirit in the world!
That was a terrifying weapon that represented ultimate power and absolute explosive force!
If he were to cultivate the Clear Sky Hammer now, then even if he were to face Yu Tianheng again, even if that guy's soul power was higher than his own, he would be able to completely crush him head-on by relying on the Clear Sky Hammer's powerful burst and overwhelming strength!
The biggest difference between him and these true geniuses is not talent, nor effort, but the innate difference in the quality of their martial souls!
This disparity in the quality of martial souls, which is so disheartening, was most vividly demonstrated in the case of Xuan Hao, that monster.
Xuan Hao's martial soul quality has reached an absurd, even unreasonable, level.
That all-around attribute overwhelm, that absolute power that could crush any enemy, made Tang San feel a deep sense of defeat for the first time on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Even subconsciously, a self-doubt arose that "I could never beat that guy in my lifetime."
This has nothing to do with whether Tang San is confident or not; it is a calm judgment based on the absolute reality.
Xuan Hao is not much older than him now.
But this person of the same age has now actually broken through to the Soul Saint realm and can unleash the Martial Soul True Body!
What does this mean?
With Xuan Hao's terrifying cultivation speed, in another three to five years, while Tang San is still struggling to break through the bottleneck of Soul Emperor and Soul Saint, that monster Xuan Hao will have already stood at the absolute peak of the Soul Master world and become a Title Douluo!
His only hope of closing the gap with, or even catching up with, Xuan Hao now lies in his unique advantage of having "twin martial souls".
However, what Tang San has seen and heard over the years has made him clearly aware that although twin martial souls are powerful, the backlash problem when attaching soul rings at the same time has always been an insurmountable dead end in the entire history of the soul master world.
For hundreds of years, only Bibi Dong, the current Pope of the Spirit Hall, has successfully resolved this deadly conflict.
Tang San always knew very well that the greatest, and perhaps only, value of his teacher Yu Xiaogang to him lay in helping him solve the problem of cultivating twin martial souls.
But it's been six years.
Six years have passed, and his teacher spends every day studying those yellowed theoretical books, seemingly still helpless and at a loss.
To say something outrageous, but realistic:
His teacher, Yu Xiaogang, has little value left for his future; in fact, it could be said that he is almost exhausted.
In this situation, is it really necessary for me to break with Ning Rongrong and the powerful Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School just to save face for my teacher?
What's more, Ning Rongrong's words from last night are still echoing in my ears.
Given Xuan Hao's terrifying power that he can now control the Heaven Dou Empire, if he really fights Xuan Hao to the death for the sake of his teacher's momentary impulse, will Tang San still have a chance to rise in this continent in the future?
Tang San is not a self-deprecating person; he knows where his greatest strength lies.
Even though he can't compare to that monster Xuan Hao in terms of his own achievements as a Soul Master, he still has the foundation from his previous life—Tang Clan hidden weapons and poison techniques.
He possesses a set of top-secret knowledge that is enough to establish a massive force on the Douluo Continent that could change the entire course of the war!
However, building power requires massive resources, connections, and a stable rear base.
If he were to become enemies with Xuan Hao, it would be tantamount to going against the incredibly wealthy Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, against the royal family of the Heaven Dou Empire, and even against almost half of the elite class of the Heaven Dou Empire.
How could he possibly establish his Tang Clan under such a tight net?
Could it be... that he's going to flee far away and develop his career in the Star Luo Empire?
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