Chapter 91: Tang San's Flaws

As Hu Yanli was injured, and it seemed the wound was serious, the others rushed over to rescue him.

Now it truly became a surrounded point attack; Tang San reacted extremely quickly and, in that instant, activated the Third Soul Skill: Blue Silver Hurricane Formation, instantly enveloping many from Xiangjia Academy in Blue Silver Grass, which at this moment had turned a faint emerald, its tips like blades, leaving countless wounds on each of the otherwise strong defenses of the Xiangjia Academy students.

Dai Mubai likewise, at that instant, activated the Fourth Soul Skill White Tiger Meteor Shower; the four Soul Elders of Xiangjia Academy, under the continuous assault, fell directly onto the arena.

But the other two Soul Ancestors, Hu Yan Ba and Hu Yan Shan, surprisingly activated the Fourth Soul Skill Thousand-Weight Guidance simultaneously to protect Hu Yanli. In such large sects with the same martial soul, many people essentially have identical soul skills; this is the inheritance issue of each sect.

Seeing many attack again, the already injured Hu Yanli let out a roar, and his head emitted a terrifying force; the four Shrek members were blasted away. Of course, Yang Xiong's duty was to protect the two auxiliaries, and he did not rush forward to attack.

Hu Yanli's head radiated golden light, as if wearing a helmet, and the helmet bore two tusks.

The onlookers couldn't help but swallow, noting the Head Soul Bone—this is indeed a Head Soul Bone, and judging by its age it must be at least Yi Wan Nian-level, making it the first Soul Bone to appear in the entire Soul Master Competition.

Yang Xiong let out a cold snort, made no move, and simply stayed beside the two auxiliaries.

But Hu Yanli, Hu Yan Ba, and Hu Yan Shan simultaneously used the Third Soul Skill: Death Press, causing the entire arena to quake. Everyone felt a massive pressure on their bodies, and even the relatively distant Yang Xiong, Ning Rongrong, and Oscar sensed the strong pressure.

The emergence of the Head Soul Bone almost shocked the whole venue, especially Ning Fengzhi couldn't help but laugh: "Hu Yan Sect Leader, your grandson truly has outstanding talent; I didn't expect someone so young to already possess a Head Soul Bone. It looks like his future is boundless."

Hu Yanzhen merely let out a cold snort and said nothing further. Soul Bones are treasures of the Soul Master World; his own grandson is only at Level 43. In front of a large crowd, displaying such a Soul Bone easily draws covetous eyes.

Against Xiangjia Academy, this Death Press, especially facing three Soul Ancestors, exerted extreme pressure on the Soul Elders.

Unfortunately, the members of the Shrek team had undergone rigorous training, and they could not defeat opponents merely with simple large-area attack soul skills.

Especially Hu Yanli; although his Head Soul Bone is formidable, he has already used three soul skills, leaving little remaining soul power.

Oscar quickly handed out a Super Recovery Big Sausage; after the others ate the sausage, their soul power was restored, and with Ning Rongrong's augmenting soul skill, they continued to press the three from Xiangjia Academy.

Tang San, though a Soul Elder, indeed possesses combat power at the level of a Soul Ancestor, and Dai Mubai's strength is also commendable.

After several full minutes, the last member of Xiangjia Academy finally fell, and the Shrek team secured victory; however, this battle against a team of three Soul Ancestors made everyone truly feel the pressure.

Nevertheless, anyone with eyes can see that tactically this fight was essentially crushed; at least Tang San's control was unremarkable and even showed a huge flaw. Had it not been for Yang Xiong's strength, which surpasses Hu Yanli's by a good margin, they would likely have been directly overrun. At least two Soul Elder auxiliaries could not contend with that Soul Ancestor.

All the people descended from the arena, and Oscar finally, still shaken, said: "Brother Xiong, it was good you protected us just now; otherwise Rong Rong and I would have been in danger. That huge head just now was quite frightening."

Yang Xiong laughed: "Aren't I acting as a defensive Soul Master now? My main role is to protect the two auxiliaries and maintain the formation."

Ning Rongrong muttered: "Xiao Xiongzi, if you had attacked just now, perhaps those huge heads would have fallen already; no need for such trouble."

Yang Xiong, upon hearing that, only smiled without replying; he hadn't really wanted to join the Soul Master Competition, and he never intended to fight desperately for any championship.

Although they defeated the powerful Xiangjia Academy, Tang San said nothing to anyone and stopped paying attention to other matches, instead leaving the team together with Yu Xiaogang.

Yang Xiong was taken by Ning Rongrong to go shopping; given his straightforward nature, he truly didn't understand what pleasure girls find in shopping.

Yu Xiaogang, seeing Tang San's somewhat dejected expression, said comfortingly: "Xiao San, don't overthink it; you performed very well in this match, and at least your combat power is not inferior to Hu Yanli's."

Tang San shook his head: "Teacher, there are some things I am still very clear about; although we won this Spirit Battle Competition, my Blue Silver Grass was indeed countered."

"For these physically robust Soul Grandmasters, my Blue Silver Grass's resilience is too poor, making effective control difficult. My Self-Created Spirit Skills, though having some advantage, can only barely bridge the gap between Soul Elders and Soul Ancestors, and cannot achieve absolute suppression."

Yu Xiaogang quickly said: "Xiao San, don't overthink; you're still young, the road ahead is long, and don't forget that your true strength is your Second Martial Soul, the Clear Sky Hammer. Only when you add a Soul Ring to the Clear Sky Hammer are you truly yourself."

Tang San, a bit puzzled, asked: "Teacher, why do you and my father not let me add a Soul Ring to the Clear Sky Hammer? I clearly could become even stronger."

Yu Xiaogang let a bitter smile show: "Dual martial souls are extremely rare, and your talent exceeds my expectations, but dual martial souls also have a major flaw: cultivating two martial souls simultaneously can cause mutual repulsion, ultimately leading to a body explosion and death."

"Over the years I've tried to analyze and research, but unfortunately I still cannot uncover the secret of cultivating dual martial souls; this may be the greatest puzzle in history."

Tang San fell silent upon hearing this.

…

Yu Xiaogang once said that Control System Soul Masters are the strongest among all Soul Masters, but unfortunately Tang San's Blue Silver Grass still has glaring flaws: its resilience is insufficient, it fears fire and ice, and is easily countered, leaving a huge gap from top-tier martial souls.

Although Tang San has recently performed well and is widely recognized for strong combat power—Soul Elders having Soul Ancestor-level power—those strengths rely on his Self-Created Spirit Skills and have little to do with the Blue Silver Grass itself.

Information flows extremely freely during the Soul Master Competition; each Soul Grandmaster's strengths and weaknesses are amplified many times, especially strong teams analyze each opponent's situation to devise counters, after all this event occurs only once every five years.

【7】 Compared to Tang San's extremely strong ego, others seemed happier, especially the several girls; being so young yet able to defeat a strong team like Xiangjia Academy, they seemed to relish this dazzling life like celebrities.

Compared with Tang San's extremely strong pride, the others seemed comparatively happy, especially the few girls, who at such a young age could defeat a strong team like Xiangjia Academy, as if they all enjoyed this dazzling life like a star.

Since the match against Xiangjia Academy, many teams have rapidly begun investigating the various issues of the Shrek team.

Now the Shrek team has not lost yet, nor encountered other veteran strong teams; their record remains undefeated, leading all academy teams, and this brilliant achievement has attracted targeting from various academies.

In the next several consecutive matches, the opponents mainly fielded Tool Spirit Masters or Fire Attribute Soul Masters; under the influence of these two types of Soul Masters, Tang San's control seemed further weakened.

Everyone knows Tang San is the tactical core of the entire Shrek team; most strategies originate from him. Cutting off Tang San's Blue Silver Grass control essentially cuts off the team's fluidity, leaving the Shrek team forced into head‑on clashes with the enemy, even prone to falling into traps.

The result is that each battle with the enemy becomes exceptionally arduous, with both sides exhausting each other, wiping out many of the opponent's members, and only then gradually achieving victory.

Moreover, compared with other academies, the Shrek team's advantage lies not in Tang San nor in Dai Mubai the Soul Ancestor, but in the fact that the Shrek team actually has two high‑level Auxiliary System Soul Masters.

That day, everyone visited the Chi Huo Academy to watch its match against Tian Shui Xue Yuan; both teams were genuine seed teams with extremely strong combat power, and Tian Shui Xue Yuan even easily defeated Xiangjia Academy, leaving the Shrek members with very solemn expressions.

Tang San, watching the two sides' battle, couldn't help but ask with some doubt: "Teacher, why do I feel that although those two teams coordinate well internally, they lack auxiliary abilities like Rong Rong and Xiao Ao; do they not have any Auxiliary System Soul Masters?"

Yu Xiaogang stared at the arena and shook his head: "The Elemental Academies are all veteran strong teams; their squads have a basic requirement to be single-element only, just like the Xiangjia Academy team you faced. All seven of their martial souls are identical, with no Auxiliary System Soul Master, not even an Agility Attack System Soul Master."

Tang San's face lit up: "Teacher, I've been reviewing that match lately, and I feel their team's building style is completely different from ours; they seem to prefer maximizing a single attribute to the extreme."

"Moreover, I've recently closely observed the Five Element Academies; there is little inter‑system coordination among them. Their strengths are prominent, but their weaknesses are equally obvious."

Yu Xiaogang said: "Actually this relates to the two schools of thought in the Soul Master World: one is the extreme style like the Elemental Academies, the other is the balanced style. Our team basically has every type of Soul Master, so we can be considered balanced."

Tang San seemed to think of something: "Teacher, haven't the Elemental Academies ever considered compensating for their shortcomings?"

Yu Xiaogang remained silent for a long time before speaking: "Each academy has its own inheritance, even its own backing. Behind Xiangjia Academy is the Xiangjia Sect, and behind Thunder Academy is …"

"Ah, in recent years, aside from the Five Element Academies, the Heaven Dou Empire hasn't produced other strong teams; even this year only the Heaven Dou Royal Academy performed well. By contrast, the Xing Luo Empire seems to emphasize the balanced style more, and the pairing of Soul Masters there is better."

Tang San asked: "Teacher, what about the Spirit Hall?"

Yu Xiaogang let a faint bitter smile appear: "Compared to the two great empires, the Spirit Hall's research into Soul Masters is deeper. They seem to pursue an individual extreme style, while the team follows a balanced style; I call this a fusion style, and I think that may be a stronger combination."

Tang San said: "The Spirit Hall is too selfish; haven't they considered publishing these theoretical insights? That would promote the development of the Soul Master World."

…

The others seemed to share the sentiment, but Yang Xiong and Ning Rongrong were speechless; both were born in the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect and have encountered far more Soul Masters and information than they have.

Anyone with a bit of insight in the Soul Master World knows that coordinated combinations yield better results, especially premium auxiliaries like the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda.

But for students, their combat power is relatively weak and their experience shallow; if they cannot fully exploit their strength and martial soul attributes, they merely sow hidden risks for future cultivation, let alone the Five Element Academies—there are hardly any Lightning Attribute auxiliary Soul Masters in the world, and even Control System Soul Masters are scarce.

(End of Chapter)