The Great Master spoke up at this moment. "Choose the Human-Faced Demon Spider. It has roughly six thousand years of cultivation. With your externally-attached Soul Bone, you're better equipped than the others — absorbing its Soul Ring should be no problem at all. It's the same type as the last Soul Beast you hunted. Once you absorb its energy, it won't just strengthen your third Soul Skill — there's also a good chance you'll gain a fourth Soul Skill for self-defense. Your externally-attached Soul Bone will also improve due to the shared attribute. It should be your best choice right now. It would do wonders for your own strength."
As he spoke, the Great Master studied Tang San with a trace of confusion. He believed the knowledge he'd imparted to Tang San was more than sufficient — if he could see it, Tang San should clearly see it too. If that was the case, what was there to hesitate about? Human-Faced Demon Spiders were exceedingly rare because their tyrannical nature often drew attacks from other Soul Beasts. One that had reached six thousand years of cultivation was already a tremendously powerful existence. The benefit of absorbing its Soul Ring would be extraordinary.
But to the Great Master's surprise, Tang San — who had always been very obedient — shook his head. "I'm sorry, Teacher. Could I choose my fourth Soul Ring myself? Headmaster Flandre, Teacher Zhao — I choose the Cave Demon Spider."
"What did you say?" Before Flandre and Zhao Wuji could react, the Great Master had already cried out in shock and anger. He strode over to Tang San and grabbed his shoulder. "Have you lost your mind? Can't you see that's a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast? And I can tell you for certain — even though it's at the ten-thousand-year level, the benefit to you won't be greater than the Human-Faced Demon Spider. Don't forget, you have the invaluable externally-attached Soul Bone. Enhancing it is even more important than enhancing your Blue Silver Grass."
How could the Great Master not be anxious upon hearing Tang San's choice? He understood clearly that although his disciple possessed a Twin Martial Soul, until the problem of the second Martial Soul accumulating too many attributes and causing his body to collapse was solved, Tang San was essentially no different from an ordinary Blue Silver Grass Soul Master.
As his Soul Power grew and his Soul Rings increased, Tang San's Blue Silver Grass — universally regarded as a waste Martial Soul — would only appear weaker and weaker in comparison. Dai Mubai's White Tiger Martial Soul and Ma Hongjun's Phoenix Martial Soul were both top-tier talents. Their Soul Skills grew increasingly terrifying as the foundation of their Martial Souls deepened. Tang San had no such luck. Despite the Blue Silver Grass's remarkable adaptability, it could not compensate for the Martial Soul's fundamentally fragile nature. It was, after all, born a waste Martial Soul — no matter how well Soul Rings enhanced it, it could never compare to the Fire Phoenix or the Evil-Eyed White Tiger, let alone the number-one support Martial Soul, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. Every single one of the other six Shrek Seven Devils possessed a Martial Soul far superior to his.
If not for Tang San's extensive knowledge, his level head, and the externally-attached Soul Bone he'd obtained from the Human-Faced Demon Spider at rank thirty, the gap between him and the others would have already become apparent. Of course, the Great Master had never believed Tang San's Hidden Weapons or the poison techniques he'd learned from the Poison Douluo would prove particularly useful. In his mind, as a Soul Master, one's own strength was what mattered most.
It was precisely because of all these reasons that the Great Master felt so agitated now. Choosing a second Human-Faced Demon Spider as his Soul Ring would primarily enhance the Eight Spider Lances. Although the Great Master couldn't be certain which aspect of the Eight Spider Lances would improve, their offensive power would undoubtedly increase dramatically, and by extension, Tang San's overall strength would rise significantly. With this ever-evolving externally-attached Soul Bone, Tang San's power wouldn't fall too far behind the others.
But the Cave Demon Spider that Tang San had chosen for himself — while certainly not a bad choice — was clearly not as beneficial for his future development as the Human-Faced Demon Spider.
The Cave Demon Spider and the Human-Faced Demon Spider were both apex predators among spider-type Soul Beasts, though they followed fundamentally different paths. The Human-Faced Demon Spider was renowned for its overwhelming offensive power and lethal venom, while the Cave Demon Spider killed through an entirely different method. Though its reputation wasn't as fearsome as the Human-Faced Demon Spider's, and it wasn't as bloodthirsty, its cunning was something the Human-Faced Demon Spider could never match.
The Human-Faced Demon Spider excelled at terrifying, swift, and devastating attacks, whereas the Cave Demon Spider was a master of exploiting terrain to set traps for its prey, using its unique abilities to entomb its victims. Its silk was completely different from the Human-Faced Demon Spider's — non-toxic, but capable of forming various shapes, unlike the single-purpose web of the Human-Faced Demon Spider. It used these to trap and kill its targets.
In terms of raw power, in a head-on confrontation, the Cave Demon Spider was no match for the Human-Faced Demon Spider. But given familiar terrain or sufficient distance, it would be the Human-Faced Demon Spider that died.
Beyond the poison barrier, there was one of each. The Human-Faced Demon Spider stood alone among the crowd of Soul Beasts, its small eyes gleaming with cold light as it watched them. The Cave Demon Spider, on the other hand, seemed to get along much better with the others — it had blended in among the Soul Beasts. Its body was half the size of the Human-Faced Demon Spider's, but upon closer inspection, one could see it had just barely entered the ten-thousand-year cultivation level. Its body was slender and elongated, also bearing eight spider legs, though they were noticeably less long and powerful than the Human-Faced Demon Spider's. Its gray body didn't stand out at all among the imposing Soul Beasts surrounding it. Only a few yellow, thread-like strands near its body gave it away — that was its spider silk.
In the Great Master's view, Tang San's choice of the Cave Demon Spider was undoubtedly because it was less violent than the Human-Faced Demon Spider, making its Soul Ring easier to absorb, and because this particular Cave Demon Spider had ten thousand years of cultivation. But this choice was clearly unwise — far inferior to the six-thousand-year Human-Faced Demon Spider for enhancing his externally-attached Soul Bone.
Yet what surprised the Great Master was the look in Tang San's eyes as he gazed at him — utterly resolute. "Teacher, please let me choose the Cave Demon Spider. I believe it will be more useful to me right now."
"Why? Give me a reason." The pride deep in the Great Master's heart was something Flandre could never compare to. Now, seeing his usually obedient disciple actually defy his wishes, his voice turned noticeably cold. But he was not the type of elder to be autocratic, so he needed Tang San to explain his reasoning.
Tang San needed only a single, simple sentence to explain why he'd chosen the Cave Demon Spider: "Teacher, I'm choosing it because the Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament is about to begin."
The Great Master froze for a moment. Then realization struck, and the coldness in his eyes melted away instantly. Looking at the disciple before him, a look of deep emotion surfaced in his gaze, and the hand gripping Tang San's shoulder tightened unconsciously. "But… aren't you thinking of yourself?"
Of course Tang San knew the Human-Faced Demon Spider's Soul Ring would benefit him more. But choosing the Human-Faced Demon Spider Soul Ring would only enhance his Eight Spider Lances and Web Bind. The fourth Soul Skill would likely serve only as a supplement to his third.
There was no denying that Web Bind possessed exceptional single-target restraining capabilities, and when paired with Tang San's Hidden Weapon techniques, the synergy was impeccable. However, Web Bind consumed far too much Soul Power. Even after Tang San's Soul Power reached rank forty, he could use it only four times at full capacity. If his fourth Soul Ring simply reinforced his third, then perhaps the single-target restraint would grow even stronger, but the Soul Power cost would be equally enormous. It might even be limited to a single use.
Against a single opponent one-on-one, this wouldn't be a problem. But Tang San had not forgotten that he was a member of the Shrek Seven Devils — and the only Control Type Soul Master among them, the soul of the team. The Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament was about to begin. He couldn't think only of himself; he had to consider the team as a whole.
The Cave Demon Spider couldn't enhance Tang San's externally-attached Soul Bone the way the Human-Faced Demon Spider could. But Tang San was certain the Cave Demon Spider Soul Ring would grant him a control-type skill — most likely an area-of-effect restriction ability that could initiate crowd control. This would be enormously beneficial to the Shrek Seven Devils as a team. In team battles, the value of an additional crowd-control skill was beyond question.
To offset the gap between what the Cave Demon Spider and the Human-Faced Demon Spider could offer him, and to avoid falling too far behind his companions, Tang San had weighed his options carefully. The ten-thousand-year Cave Demon Spider was clearly his best choice.
The Great Master understood all of this, which was why his heart was so full of emotion. Tang San's decision, though not the most advantageous for himself personally, was undoubtedly the correct one. His strategic vision had even surpassed his teacher's own. Having such a selfless disciple filled the Great Master with both pride and a tinge of regret.
"Teacher, perhaps this Cave Demon Spider will drop a Soul Bone for me too?" Tang San comforted the Great Master in his own way.
The Great Master sighed. "Xiao San, although your body's resilience surpasses even Mubai's, and you've had experience absorbing Soul Rings beyond your level — don't forget that this time, you're leaping a full five thousand years of cultivation. Do you truly believe you can successfully absorb a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast? For the sake of the team, you absolutely must not put yourself in danger. Do you understand? So I maintain my recommendation — the Human-Faced Demon Spider is still your best choice."
Tang San clenched both fists. "Teacher, trust me. I can do this. When I was with Senior Dugu, I consumed two divine-grade herbs. Those herbs cleansed and reshaped my body from the inside out — my physical resilience is even greater than you imagine. Besides, there's another advantage here. The two divine-grade herbs I took allow me to perform Soul Ring absorption in a special location. That way, I have more than ninety percent confidence in succeeding."
(End of Chapter)