Chapter 104: Promotion Tournament

After the entire Qualifying Tournament ended, there was a full month of rest time; Yu Xiaogang planned to organize everyone for strengthening training, and everyone seemed to hold it in high regard, especially Yu Tianheng, who practically looked to Yu Xiaogang as a guide.

However, Yang Xiong directly asked Yu Xiaogang for a one‑month leave, saying his cultivation had hit a bottleneck and he wanted to close off for training. Yu Xiaogang initially had some objections, but since Tang San had previously taken leave for the same reason, he couldn't show favoritism, so he ultimately agreed.

The entire Qualifying Tournament was a huge blow to Tang San; he had believed his talent was unparalleled, but his performance in the tournament fell short of expectations.

Many people studied Tang San's Blue Silver Grass and devised numerous countermeasures, especially using Fire Attribute Soul Masters; the Blue Silver Grass is quickly incinerated when it meets fire, and both formations and tactics are swiftly disrupted.

It can be said that the Shrek team stumbled through the entire Qualifying Tournament; even though their average Soul Power Level was the highest in the Tiandou Region, they gained no advantage in strong‑vs‑strong matchups, especially suffering crushing defeats to the Shenfeng Academy and Tian Shui Xue Yuan teams, which embarrassed Tang San greatly.

Compared to Tang San, Yang Xiong has also been pondering various issues lately, especially future development, so he simply took leave to return to the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect to close off for training.

Of course, the Shrek team has another issue: the squad now has three 39th‑level Soul Grandmasters, who might break through again in a short time, so their strength could increase considerably by the finals.

Originally, according to Yang Xiong's plan, he would absorb only Power-type Soul Rings into all his Soul Rings, then expand from that angle; each Soul Ring would possess one of the five elemental attributes—metal, wood, water, fire, earth—and finally add certain high‑grade attributes such as space, light, or darkness.

But after revisiting the Bing Huo Liang Yi Yan this time, Yang Xiong felt he had always underestimated the five‑element Soul Ring method, as well as the strength of his Body Soul.

Although this time he had fully absorbed the External Soul Bones of two Silver Horn Tyrannosaurs and even gained a lot, Yang Xiong still felt the world wasn't as simple as he imagined; his twin claws seemed to represent some kind of power, especially the unexpected sensation from the Bing Huo Liang Yi Yan.

Moreover, the Body Soul was more profound than he imagined, because a martial soul is one's own body, and each body contains limitless potential, making it completely different from an ordinary martial soul.

For example, an ordinary martial soul finds it very difficult to change form, and evolving is even harder, but the Body Soul seems to grow stronger every moment; from awakening at age six to now fourteen, the once‑feeble martial soul, through Yang Xiong's diligent training and massive Body Tempering, has gradually become comparable to top‑tier martial souls.

The transformation of a pair of Dragon Claws, however, proves the Body Soul's terrifying plasticity; the Body Soul encompasses so many components—skin, blood, muscles, bones, marrow, pores, even hair—all of which are parts of the martial soul, and each seems to have the potential for development and awakening.

One must know that in later generations, Body Souls are extremely rare and equally formidable, as if bestowed by heaven.

The Body Soul is also called the martial soul with the highest body‑martial soul compatibility; in the entire Douluo Shijie, only three top Limit Douluo can perfectly fuse body and martial soul, yet the Body Soul can achieve this without any cultivation, truly a divine miracle.

Moreover, the Full Body Soul has a great advantage: both the eyes and the brain are parts of the martial soul, and as Body Tempering progresses, spiritual power grows rapidly, far surpassing Soul Grandmasters of the same level.

During the following month, Yang Xiong directly closed off for meditation, contemplating his martial soul's development and changes, as well as his future plans and subsequent schemes.

Given the current situation, going to Spirit City this time seems inevitable, but what role should he play? Should he let the Spirit Hall win the championship and dominate the world at the peak of its momentum, or truly fight a proper battle?

After two years together, Yang Xiong still feels a certain affection for the Shrek team; although his friendships with Tang San, Xiao Wu, Dai Mubai and others are not deep, and each has flaws, there is no mutual hatred.

Especially Tang San, whose actions are said to be rather extreme and even a bit double‑standard, but far less disgusting than later generations; one can only say that power inflates people and distorts humanity, perhaps reflecting the martial world's impact on the human heart.

……

Time flew, and a month quickly passed; the Promotion Tournament was about to begin.

After a month of seclusion, Yang Xiong felt he had come to understand his Body Soul anew; his body and mind became incredibly smooth, and things that once baffled him are now clearer than ever.

One of the biggest gains was that the Purple Extreme Demon Eye finally reached the pinnacle of the Micro‑Entry Realm; in terms of spiritual power it already surpasses Tang San, but there remains a considerable gap to the third realm, the Mustard Seed Realm. To reach the Mustard Seed Realm, spiritual power must undergo a qualitative change and outward release; estimates suggest one likely needs to attain the Soul Saint Level, though possessing a Head Soul Bone could accelerate it significantly.

The Shrek team seemed to undergo further changes; Liu Erlong and Xiao Wu appeared to become closer, and the biggest change was Tang San.

Tang San actually broke through to the Soul Ancestor realm during this month, and moreover absorbed a fourth Soul Ring, raising his Soul Power to level 41.

According to Ning Rongrong, Tang San's fourth Soul Ring is a six‑thousand‑year Human‑Faced Demon Spider, an absorption that exceeds the usual Soul Ring age limit; the soul skill, named Spider Web Bind, is a decent Control System soul skill that can use Blue Silver Grass to form a massive spider web to trap enemies, capable of both single‑target and group control, as seen in his own usage.

However, this Human‑Faced Demon Spider did not provide Tang San with an External Soul Bone, and Yang Xiong felt Tang San's Blue Silver Grass had become noticeably tougher, though its drawbacks remained obvious.

If the Qualifying Tournament tests team coordination, the Promotion Tournament is a pure test of individual ability.

The Promotion Tournament takes place in a training ground outside Heaven Dou City, surrounded by tens of thousands of troops; it is also a fully closed competition, open only to participants and a few imperial high officials and nobles, not accessible to ordinary citizens.

The Promotion Tournament still has Tang San arranging the formations; it's clear that Yu Xiaogang has truly put in great effort to train Tang San, even to the point of losing his own sense of direction, whereas Dugu Yan, also a Control System user, does not receive such treatment.

Whether intentional or not, Yang Xiong surprisingly places himself as the seventh‑ranked player in every match, serving as the team's final trump card, which essentially guarantees the team won't lose.

Compared to the stumbling Qualifying Tournament, the Shrek team's performance in the Promotion Tournament is excellent, truly crushing everything in its path.

The Shrek team of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy boasts six Soul Ancestors, especially Yu Tianheng, Dai Mubai, Dugu Yan, and Tang San, whose combat power is extremely formidable, each capable of staging impressive one‑against‑many displays.

Half a month flew by, and the Promotion Tournament saw no upsets; the Shrek team unsurprisingly took first place, with both Yu Tianheng and Tang San shining brilliantly.

Yang Xiong appears very casual about such deployments, not caring whether he fights; after all, the Promotion Tournament is more like a talent selection for nobles and sects, which holds no meaning for him.

Compared to Yang Xiong's complete absence from combat, Tang San is undoubtedly the brightest presence in the Promotion Tournament, whether placed first or third to act.

The entire Heaven Dou Empire has fifteen Promotion teams; aside from the five teams from the Tiandou Region, the others are relatively weaker, and Tang San's group repeatedly achieved one‑against‑three or one‑against‑four feats, their formidable combat power astonishing everyone.

The most exciting match of the Promotion Tournament was Tang San versus Feng Xiaotian; unfortunately, even after giving his all, Tang San still lost to Feng Xiaotian, despite revealing his Mantis Leg External Soul Bone in the fight.

But the Blue Silver Grass remains too fragile, and the Clear Sky Hammer has no Soul Rings at all.

In the end, after a hard‑fought battle, Tang San's body could not endure and fell under Feng Xiaotian's Rapid Wind Demon Wolf Thirty‑six Slash.

Tang San's confidence was again shaken, but comparatively, his talent and opportunities caught the attention of Salas and others.

Although Feng Xiaotian won the personal duel against Tang San, both were only the first to act; Feng Xiaotian himself was heavily exhausted, and the other members of Shenfeng Academy lacked his combat power, so their team was quickly defeated by the Shrek team without even needing Yang Xiong to act.

It's evident that Feng Xiaotian is rather frustrated; no matter how strong an individual is, he cannot match the sheer number of Shrek Soul Ancestors.

Tang San's performance also attracted the attention of interested parties, especially the conference host, Platinum Archbishop Salas of the Spirit Hall.

From any angle, with his dual martial souls and External Soul Bones, Tang San will likely become the Spirit Hall's number‑one nemesis in the future.

But whether it's Tang San or Yu Xiaogang, they seem oblivious to the current undercurrents, and Yang Xiong cares even less.

Yang Xiong closely observed the duel; Tang San's Tang Sect techniques are indeed impressive, especially Mysterious Jade Hand and Ghost Shadow Mirage Step—Mysterious Jade Hand lets Tang San block Feng Xiaotian's ordinary Wind Blade bare‑handed, while Ghost Shadow Mirage Step enables him to match Feng Xiaotian's speed.

However, Yang Xiong also knows clearly that all Tang Sect techniques fundamentally stem from Mysterious Heaven Skill; without Mysterious Heaven Skill as a foundation, other techniques develop much slower, especially for the Purple Extreme Demon Eye to reach higher realms, which becomes even harder.

Ning Rongrong has also cultivated the Purple Extreme Demon Eye for over a year; although she entered the Micro‑Entry Realm, her cultivation speed has noticeably slowed since, lacking the innate talent and speed she showed when first learning.

Nevertheless, Yang Xiong feels his Yin Yang Meditation Method synergizes with the Purple Extreme Demon Eye; both Yin Yang Meditation Method and Mysterious Heaven Skill originate from Daoism, and in hierarchy the Yin Yang Meditation Method seems even more profound, essentially the foundation of all Daoist techniques, like the source of every method.

(End of Chapter)