Chapter 50: Joining a Great Power, On the Advantages and Necessity of Being a Subordinate of the "First Prince of Heaven Dou"
The morning light was faint, and a soft halo spread out, waking everyone from their slumber.
Crawling out of the tent and finishing a simple wash, Tang Shan skillfully found an open space. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, his mind gradually clearing and his heart becoming naturally calm.
His Spirit silently activated, his body rapidly expanded, and his spirit power circulated autonomously within him, awakening his still-sluggish body. Amidst the crisp cracking of his bones, Tang Shan's figure became increasingly robust, exuding a vigorous vitality under the morning sun.
Qi and blood surged lively within his body, nourishing his limbs and bones, causing his entire body to gradually stretch out.
Tang Shan quietly felt every detail of his body, and then activated the spirit ring beneath his feet.
It was a wonderful feeling, as if his control and understanding of his body had reached a whole new level, and his control over every part and organ was as he pleased. The dark energy was gentle, capable of forging bones and tempering the internal organs. With the effects of the dark energy echoing in his mind, Tang Shan slowly extended his palm, his movements heavy and slow, as if he were pushing a huge millstone. Strands of gentle force flowed through his body, permeating deep into his bones, extracting the Impurities from them, and then expelling them from his body along with his metabolism.
The so-called bone forging was not simply increasing the hardness and strength of the bones, but achieving a balance of hardness and softness: it could be as tough as steel and iron, yet as supple as a delicate hand.
Invisible force surged within his body, permeating little by little into the depths of his bones, meticulously tempering and forging them, bringing a slight numbness and a trace of subtle stinging pain. This was the feeling Tang Shan experienced when tempering his bones with dark energy. Fortunately, these years of cultivation had long since honed his willpower to far exceed that of ordinary people; these subtle sensations could not stir up any waves in his heart, merely ripples that were barely noticeable.
The force continuously extracted Impurities, while Qi and blood kept nourishing the bones. In this cyclical process, the bones became increasingly hard and resilient. Rolling Qi and blood surged within his body, and heat kept gathering beneath his skin. At this moment, if anyone could touch Tang Shan's skin, they would be surprised to discover that his body temperature was already far higher than that of ordinary people.
Tang Shan's punches and kicks were not swift, but instead carried a leisurely composure, yet his face was tense, as if he were practicing while carrying a heavy burden.
Hu!
Exhaling a long breath, Tang Shan finished his daily morning exercise.
I don't know when, but Su Yuntao was already silently standing in a stance nearby. As his figure rose and fell, it was as if there was truly a galloping steed beneath him. Tang Shan did not go up to disturb him, looking at his appearance of gazing into the distance, he nodded slightly, and then turned back to the previous campsite.
Su Haichao had just restarted the bonfire and put an iron pot on to boil water. Seeing him return, he asked: "Shan Zi, are you going to cultivate in Heaven Dou City for the next few years?"
He fiddled with the coarse grain in his hands, threw it into the pot after simple processing, patted the crumbs off his clothes, and looked at Tang Shan with a solemn expression.
"That is highly likely." Tang Shan nodded, "After all, we don't have the abundant resources of a large Sect. If we want to go further, we have to go to more developed areas to obtain the resources needed for cultivation."
This was not everything.
Relying on his Body Martial Soul and his research over the years, Tang Shan was confident that he could become a Titled Douluo, and even reaching Super Douluo would not be difficult. But if he wanted to reach the level of Limit Douluo or even become a god, relying solely on his current accumulation was definitely far from enough.
Therefore, he had to step onto a bigger stage and leverage more resources to get what he wanted.
Even setting aside long-term planning, in the short term, Tang Shan did need to attach himself to a large power. After all, he was about to reach a Breakthrough to level twenty. At this rate of cultivation, he would probably need to hunt a Ten Thousand Year Spirit Beast within five or six years. By that time, relying solely on Su Haichao's Spirit Ancestor level strength would definitely be insufficient. Not to mention a Ten Thousand Year spirit ring, even his second spirit ring was already a significant challenge for Su Haichao. The last hunt was for a Spirit Beast of fourteen or fifteen hundred years, and it was reasonable for this absorption limit to increase by three or four thousand years. However, for a Spirit Ancestor to deal with a four or five thousand year old Spirit Beast, they would inevitably have to take great risks. On this point, Tang Shan was firmly against it.
Furthermore, not to mention the difficulty of hunting a four or five thousand year old Spirit Beast, just finding a suitable power-type Spirit Beast was a huge problem. This inevitably required a powerful force as support.
"Then why is the target the Heaven Dou Prince? Why not Spirit Hall?" Su Haichao, who had been holding back his confusion for a long time, finally asked at this moment. Not to mention anything else, just based on Tang Shan's identity as a "Disciple of the Great Master," in his view, going to Spirit Hall would certainly be able to receive good treatment. Plus, he was already a member of Spirit Hall; with such a direct lineage, Spirit Hall should be the best choice.
"The new Supreme Pontiff has just taken office. At a time of power transition, internal strife is at its most complex," Tang Shan explained slowly, "A Spirit Master with Innately Full Spirit Power entering at this time might become a sacrifice for high-level infighting. After all, I am not a Genius with Innately Full Spirit Power of a traditional Beast Spirit or Tool Spirit, but a Body Martial Soul with full spirit power, so the value of my cultivation is debatable. Those high-level fights might restrain themselves for a true Genius, after all, there is still the Hall of Worship suppressing them from above, but for me, a Body Martial Soul Spirit Master, it is hard to say."
He still had another concern in his heart that he had not stated. The identity of "Grandmaster" that he had painstakingly built up over these years was not suitable to be revealed directly; it was too eye-catching. However, building an identity as a "Disciple of the Great Master" to obtain resources was the best choice.
As for Spirit Hall, he knew a little about the temperament of the contemporary Supreme Pontiff Bibi Dong. She was a woman who, even after becoming a god, until her fall, could not stop thinking about Yu Xiaogang. Such a deep-seated obsession made Tang Shan seriously worry that once he stepped into Spirit Hall, he would disappear into thin air, and the "Grandmaster" who appeared in Spirit Hall would definitely be Yu Xiaogang himself.
To avoid this tragedy, Tang Shan decisively chose to stay away from Spirit Hall.
"Then why not choose the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School?" After hearing his explanation, Su Haichao felt it made sense and stopped trying to persuade him.
He was not a brainless fanatic of Spirit Hall, it was just a job, and there was no need to have such a deep sense of belonging. At this moment, he was curious why Tang Shan also gave up on the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.
"The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School —" Tang Shan muttered in a low voice. Naturally, he would not say that he was too lazy to tutor a certain witch, nor was he willing to be "taught a lesson" by two Titled Douluo because of a conflict with the other party. Moreover, if he did not intervene, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School was destined to be destroyed in the future.
He pondered for a while and found a proper reason: "It's not abandoning the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, but the Heaven Dou Prince, or rather, the Heaven Dou Empire, is a better choice."
"How so?" Su Haichao was even more confused.
"The current situation on the continent seems complex, but in reality, there are only six core powers, nothing more than the three Sects, two Empires, and one Hall," Tang Shan analyzed clearly, "First, let's talk about Spirit Hall. It is the sole dominant power, basically a referee watching from the sidelines. It doesn't get along well with the Upper Three Sects, and although it is a mediator between the two great Empires, the relationship is also very average. I've already mentioned the reason for not joining, so I won't repeat it here; Among the two great Empires, the Star Luo Empire is obviously stronger, coupled with its cruel prince elimination system and no weak Spirit Legacy, if I really join, the probability of getting much resource allocation is low; As for the Heaven Dou Empire, its own Spirit Master foundation is weak, requiring the assistance of various nobles and principalities, and the Imperial Spirit is also mediocre, so it is naturally one of the high-quality choices for Spirit Master Geniuses. And the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School is basically tied to the Heaven Dou Empire. If there is a Genius in the Imperial family, they will definitely not be stingy with their cultivation. After all, only by relying on the vast territory of the Empire can they collect Geniuses with the potential to become Titled Douluo like Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo, so the relationship with the Heaven Dou Empire must be maintained. Joining the Imperial family means getting the best of both worlds: you can get the resources of the Empire and use the power of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School; while joining the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School only allows you to obtain resources from one source. Is there any need to hesitate?"
"Looking at it this way, the Heaven Dou Imperial family is indeed a good choice." Su Haichao paused and added, "But Shan Zi, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School may not be willing to cultivate you with all their might, after all, you are ultimately a person of the Heaven Dou Imperial family, not a Disciple of their own Sect."
"It's okay, as long as I can get some resources from them, it's a victory." After dealing with Su Haichao's inquiry, Tang Shan simply ate breakfast and returned to the carriage, falling into deep thought.
He had even bigger plans in his heart. If he could really follow the cultivation path he had planned for himself, he was certain that, not to mention reaching the Titled Douluo stage, even if he only reached the Spirit Emperor stage, his strength could reach a terrifying degree.
By then, it would inevitably attract the attention of major powers. If there was no powerful backer, it would definitely be inadvisable. As for wanting to keep a low profile and cultivate in secret, let alone anything else, just the task of finding a spirit ring was enough to give one a headache.
At that time, even if he revealed his identity as a Disciple of the Great Master or even the Grandmaster, it might not work, and it might even incite more anxiety among the major powers.
After all, having a name, power, and visible terrifying talent, it would be difficult not to make the top powers suspect whether he also wanted to get a share of the pie on the Douluo Continent.
Therefore, Tang Shan's choice had to be to join a large power directly. And among the many large powers, in his opinion, there was no one more suitable than the "First Prince of Heaven Dou," Xue Qinghe.
Once he joined her command, it would be full of security.
Not to mention anything else, the two Titled Douluo by her side, as long as he could gain trust, would be the best bodyguards.
Moreover, the other party would become a student of Ning Fengzhi in the future, so the threat from the two major powers would disappear completely.
Furthermore, do not forget that the "First Prince of Heaven Dou," Xue Qinghe, had another identity: the granddaughter of the Hall of Worship's Master, Qian Daoliu.
As long as she spoke up, Spirit Hall would at most symbolically suppress him and would never commit murder like they did to Tang San, who participated in the Spirit Master Tournament. As for the possibility that the love-struck Supreme Pontiff would want to kill him, one should not underestimate Qian Daoliu. In Tang Shan's view, as long as he could occupy a sufficiently important position in Xue Qinghe's heart, it would be enough to make Qian Daoliu watch her firmly before Bibi Dong became a god.
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