Among the seven participants, Tang San was the only one injured. This left him hesitant to speak up about his condition.
"Forget it. Once they're back at the academy, they'll probably remember that I'm hurt," Tang San thought, shifting his focus back to pondering his weaknesses.
Soul masters generally followed two main developmental paths: the balanced approach and the extremes approach.
The Five Elemental Academies, along with the four auxiliary clans of the Clear Sky Sect—Strength, Defense, Agility, and Breaking Clans—were the most iconic examples of the extremes approach.
Zhao Wuji, on the other hand, was the epitome of the balanced approach—competent in everything, but a master of none.
Both approaches had their pros and cons, with no definitive superiority.
For Tang San, however, his current predicament was glaring: against fire-attribute soul masters, his Blue Silver Grass martial soul was practically useless.
It was already somewhat underwhelming in its own right, but when specifically countered, it became as good as nonexistent.
"If I were to attach spirit rings to my hammer martial soul now, my combat strength would increase significantly!"
"Why, then, do my father and teacher both insist that I refrain from attaching spirit rings to this hammer martial soul?"
Tang San's thoughts raced as doubt clouded his mind.
"Wait a second. If I were to enhance my hammer martial soul now and bring it up to four rings, I'd be able to attach four thousand-year rings."
"And if I reached the Soul King level, wouldn't I be able to attach five ten-thousand-year rings? Then, by the time I reached Title Douluo and added spirit rings to the hammer, wouldn't that mean…?"
Tang San wasn't foolish—quite the opposite, in fact. With a slight shift in perspective, he quickly deduced the reasoning behind Tang Hao and Yu Xiaogang's advice to delay attaching spirit rings to his second martial soul.
"According to Teacher's spirit ring absorption theory, once I reach Title Douluo, my second martial soul could theoretically absorb nine spirit rings, each over 50,000 years old."
"If even a regular ten-thousand-year spirit ring is so powerful, then absorbing nine spirit rings exceeding 50,000 years…"
"I would become invincible across the entire Douluo Continent!"
A flash of clarity lit up Tang San's mind as his eyes sparkled with excitement.
But then his excitement waned, replaced by deep concern.
"What should I do now?"
His Blue Silver Grass martial soul was almost useless. In battles against soul masters of the same level, it offered no advantage. Being countered by fire attributes was bad enough, but even control-type soul masters of the same level could easily break free of his Blue Silver Bind.
This realization dealt a heavy blow to Tang San's pride.
As someone striving for "perfection," Tang San couldn't tolerate such glaring weaknesses.
"If I don't attach spirit rings to my second martial soul now, will I even have the chance to become a Title Douluo?"
This was the crux of Tang San's inner turmoil. His current combat strength wasn't sufficient to kill a ten-thousand-year soul beast.
His Blue Silver Grass's fourth spirit ring was merely 4,000 years old. Without the help of academy teachers, he might not even have qualified to obtain that.
He vividly remembered his first spirit ring acquisition with Yu Xiaogang. That scene was etched into his memory: they had barely managed to handle a mere 400-year-old Datura Snake!
"There's no other choice."
Tang San looked down at his injured arms. The burns weren't just physical pain—they stung his pride deeply.
He was an immensely proud person.
Losing to Dai Mubai? He accepted that. Dai Mubai's martial soul and age justified his strength.
Losing to Dugu Yan? He accepted that too. She was three years older than Dai Mubai, and her grandfather was a Title Douluo. With such an experienced mentor, her rapid progress was understandable.
Losing to Ning Rongrong? That was harder for Tang San to stomach. Still, as the princess of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Clan—one of the Upper Three Sects—her resources and background far exceeded his own. Thankfully, Ning Rongrong was an auxiliary soul master, and her combat abilities were ultimately limited.
But losing to Huo Wushuang?
Tang San refused to accept that.
Losing to the second-tier members of the Heaven Dou Imperial Team? That was absolutely intolerable!
He wasn't a pushover! Why was it always him being targeted?
Ma Hongjun, Huang Yuan, Jing Ling—none of them had higher soul power than he did. So why was it always Tang San who ended up injured?
Why?!
The helplessness, frustration, and despair weighed heavily on him.
"Boss Dai, wait a moment. I have something very important that requires your help!"
Tang San suddenly called out to Dai Mubai, who was about to head to the restaurant.
The solemnity on Tang San's face puzzled everyone.
What was going on?
Why was Tang San suddenly so serious?
Dai Mubai hesitated, clearly confused by Tang San's abrupt request.
After a brief moment of thought, he nodded.
"Teacher Zhao, you go on ahead. I'll have a private word with Tang San."
Hearing this, Zhao Wuji frowned but said nothing, nodding as he led the others away.
Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong, Xiao Wu, and Dugu Yan glanced back at Dai Mubai and Tang San but felt no concern.
Tang San hurting Dai Mubai? That was impossible!
"Teacher, you should head back as well. I need to discuss something with Boss Dai," Tang San said to Yu Xiaogang.
If Yu Xiaogang knew what Tang San intended, he would undoubtedly stop him from adding spirit rings to his second martial soul.
Better to keep it a secret for now. Once it was done, even if Yu Xiaogang scolded him, it wouldn't matter.
Yu Xiaogang looked at Tang San, then at Dai Mubai, and nodded despite his confusion.
Flender was already gone, and there was little point in staying. Had it not been for Tang San's injuries, Yu Xiaogang would have left earlier.
Turning to leave, Yu Xiaogang reflected on Dai Mubai's qualities. Tang San had always spoken highly of him. When Tang San absorbed his third spirit ring, it was Dai Mubai who had protected him.
If not for Dai Mubai's overly romantic tendencies, Yu Xiaogang might have considered taking him as a disciple. Unfortunately, a man so fickle wouldn't achieve great things in the long run.
After Yu Xiaogang left, Dai Mubai finally addressed Tang San.
"Tang San, what's the matter?"
Dai Mubai was genuinely puzzled. Why had Tang San sought him out privately?
Could it be that Tang San had realized Dai Mubai intentionally threw Huo Wushuang in his direction earlier?
Even if that were the case, Tang San's current demeanor didn't match someone holding a grudge. He seemed far too serious.
"Boss Dai, this isn't the place to talk. Let's find somewhere quieter," Tang San replied, his tone unusually respectful.
With a favor to ask of Dai Mubai, Tang San addressed him with utmost deference.
(Chapter ends.)