A trace of surprise flickered in Titan's fierce eyes. To win this wager, he had released roughly sixty percent of his pressure right from the start. In his estimation, the other party was merely a level thirty-seven Soul Venerable. That alone should have been more than enough to settle the matter.
Though Titan looked extraordinarily imposing on the surface, his mind was actually quite meticulous. From the moment he arrived, through their earlier conversation and the proposing of the wager, he had never once revealed his own Soul Master rank. Yet he knew Tang San's Soul Power level.
After Tai Nuo and Tai Long returned the previous day and described their battle with Tang San, Titan had immediately realized that Tang San was a genius among geniuses. That was precisely why he had come in person, setting aside his status. On one hand, he wanted to see what kind of young man Tang San truly was; on the other, he hoped to recruit a future powerhouse for his family. The clan had already begun its decline, and for Titan, this was a last resort.
Tai Nuo's nickname was the Divine Power King, while Titan's was the Divine Power God. His Martial Soul was also purely of the strength type. And just as Tang San had judged, his Soul Power had already surpassed level eighty — he was a powerful Soul Douluo. His exact rank was level eighty-six.
Soul Masters' cultivation always had tendencies, which was how the various types came about: assault, defense, control, agile assault, food, support, and so on.
However, no matter the type of tendency, it was nearly impossible to have every Soul Ring add only a single attribute.
Take Tang San for example. Although most of the Soul Rings attached to his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul aimed to enhance the grass's toughness, following the control type path, the skills that emerged after each Soul Ring was added were all different. This was the result of Soul Ring diversity. Besides toughness, Blue Silver Grass also possessed spikes, toxins, spider webs, and various other skills that revolved around its core resilience. While these abilities complemented each other, it was undeniable that his Soul Rings were far from a single attribute.
Generally speaking, this kind of varied Soul Ring selection was the best choice, allowing one's skills in a particular type to develop in a comprehensive and effective manner. Tang San's Soul Ring selections could be said to be the result of the Great Master's careful calculations.
To attach every Soul Ring with only the same attribute, there was only one possibility: every Soul Ring obtained had to come from the same type of Soul Beast. Finding a ten-year strength-type Soul Beast was not difficult, and locating a hundred-year one of the same species was not exactly hard either. One could even search out a thousand-year Soul Beast of the same type. But to continue along this path, always seeking the very same kind of Soul Beast, the difficulty would increase exponentially.
Moreover, following a single-type Soul Ring path carried an enormous drawback: the narrowness of one's abilities. When facing different opponents, one's adaptability would be far worse than an ordinary Soul Master's. One would only be powerful in one specific area.
Yet this method of attaching Soul Rings of a single type also possessed its own greatest advantage: the maximization of that one attribute.
Like the three generations of the Titan family, who followed the pure-strength single-type path — that was the meaning behind their title as the Family of Power. Titan's Soul Power was level eighty-six, but even among Titled Douluo, few could surpass him in raw strength. Even Tai Nuo at level fifty-eight, when measuring strength alone, could rival Zhao Wuji at level seventy-six. That was the advantage of single-attribute Soul Ring attachment.
As a purely strength-type Soul Master, the pressure Titan released naturally came from his strength. Though it appeared he used no Martial Soul and no skills — seemingly giving Tang San some breathing room while setting a time limit on himself — the reality was that facing the pressure of a purely attribute-focused Soul Master was a terrifying ordeal.
Every time the air warped, Tang San felt as though his body was about to be crushed by this immense force. Even when facing Dugu Bo, he had never experienced such a thing. Dugu Bo's intimidation had been great, but it was primarily spiritual in nature. What he faced now from the Divine Power God, Titan, was pure physical suppression.
Blue Silver Grass erupted from Tang San's body, just as before, wrapping around him into a large cocoon. Its rhythmic pulsing, combined with the techniques of Crane Control Dragon Catch, worked to diminish the damage the pressure inflicted on his body as much as possible.
But Tang San quickly discovered that as the pressure increased, the effect the Blue Silver Grass could provide grew smaller and smaller. The grass on his front could barely even ripple anymore.
The incense burned slowly. Titan and Tang San stood facing each other, their silent battle extraordinarily perilous. The incense had burned less than a third of the way, yet Tang San's clothes were already soaked through. He clenched his teeth and endured with everything he had.
As time passed, the surprise in Titan's heart only deepened. He had already increased the pressure he was projecting from sixty percent to seventy. Forget level thirty-seven — even a level forty-seven Soul Master might not be able to hold on. This youth before him was far more exceptional than he had imagined. It seemed this trip had truly been worth it.
At that moment, Zhao Wuji and a group of teachers had already arrived at the academy gates, led by Xiao Wu. He quickly learned what was happening from the surrounding students.
"Teacher Zhao, please stop them quickly!" Xiao Wu said, her voice urgent.
Zhao Wuji's gaze fell upon Titan, and his expression turned extremely grave. He shook his head. "The wager has been struck. Everything must wait until their wager is concluded. A wager between Soul Masters is sacred. If I intervene now, Little San will never be able to hold his head in the Soul Master world again. A man without honor stands for nothing. But — how on earth is his opponent this old monster? This is going to be trouble."