Huo Wushuang sighed softly. "Silly sister, if you really want to defeat him, you need to keep training. Win with your own strength. What's the point of throwing a tantrum like this? Work hard — we'll still have our chance in the advancement tournament. When you're facing an opponent who completely counters your attributes, you need to come up with new strategies. He might be immune to fire, but he can't be immune to the impact of raw energy. Have you forgotten how Shui Bing'er did it?"
"That's right, that's right, and there's me too. Sister Huo Wu, I didn't get to face him in the preliminaries, but when the advancement tournament comes, I'll definitely help you defeat him." Feng Xiaotian popped out from somewhere, his face full of righteous indignation.
From the Great Soul Arena all the way back to the academy, Tang San's mind kept replaying every moment of today's match against the Water Academy.
For him, this was far more than just a draw. It was the most grueling battle of the entire preliminary round — not only because the opponent's Martial Soul Fusion Technique was extraordinarily powerful, but also because he had been suppressed from the very start.
Tang San understood clearly that it was precisely because of him that the entire team had been pushed onto the back foot. Shui Bing'er's opening restriction had shattered his original plan. It had also shown him just how powerful other Control Type Soul Masters could be. The advancement tournament would be next — that was a stage for individual performance. But after the advancement tournament, the final tournament would still be team-based.
Every Soul Master had flaws, and he was no exception. Only through teamwork and mutual compensation could a Soul Master's true strength be brought to its fullest potential. This had always been an ironclad rule in the Soul Master world, and it was also why the Continental Elite Soul Master Academy Tournament was primarily focused on team battles.
He hadn't thought much about Emperor Snow Night's olive branch — that wasn't what he needed to focus on right now. What he needed was to figure out how to better help his team, and how to make himself stronger.
Tang San had always been a stubborn person. In his previous life at the Tang Sect, he had been the same, and in this life, nothing had changed.
Therefore, as soon as he returned to the academy, he went straight to the Great Master and requested to go into closed-door cultivation for a while, saying he needed to work through some problems.
The Great Master understood Tang San very well. He knew that this was a critical period for Tang San — if he could break through this inner barrier, he would become more mature and far more terrifying. At times like this, no one could help him. The only person who could help was himself. Only when he figured it out on his own, only through his own enlightenment, could he truly recognize his own problems. Even a wise man like the Great Master knew that saying too much at a time like this would do no good.
Every person's inner barrier was different, and no one else could pinpoint where the problem lay. Tang San's problems could only be solved by Tang San himself.
Watching Tang San's retreating figure, the other six members of the Shrek Seven Devils couldn't help but feel a pang of melancholy. They all understood what Tang San was feeling. Since the team had formed, today's battle hadn't been the most difficult one overall, but for Tang San, it was the first time he had truly been suppressed. They could fully comprehend his state of mind.
Xiao Wu wanted to run after him to offer comfort, but Liu Erlong caught her arm. "Silly girl, don't disturb him right now. Let him figure things out on his own. Trust him — give him some space."
Xiao Wu looked at Liu Erlong, who gently pulled her into an embrace and stroked her long braids.
The Great Master coughed once, drawing everyone's attention. "All right, Tang San has gone into seclusion. For the next month, it's also a rest period for you. After a full month of high-density matches, each of you has benefited to varying degrees — but it's still far from enough. I think you've all seen it now: this world doesn't only have you as its prodigies. Tang San encountered an opponent who countered him, and the same will happen to you. You are a single unit. If you want to beat your peers and claim final victory, you'll need to put in even more. So I've decided that during this one-month rest period, I'm going to put you all through another round of intensive training. What's with those expressions? Stand up straight, all of you. If anyone has objections, I won't hesitate to double their training load."
A collective wail of anguish echoed through the hearts of the Shrek Six Devils. Only now did they suddenly envy Tang San. At least, secluded in his cultivation, Tang San didn't have to endure the devil's training…
The seclusion spot Tang San had chosen was the same wooden cabin in the woods from before. The serene environment, the quiet world — it was the most suitable place for his cultivation.
Two days had passed since his return, yet Tang San still sat there in a daze. He hadn't cultivated at all. His mind remained shrouded in a thick fog. He couldn't figure out where his problem lay, nor could he determine what direction he should be heading. He was even starting to doubt whether the Control Type path he'd been walking all along was the wrong one.
In two days, Tang San had thought about a great deal. But the more he thought, the more turbulent his mind became.
Two days and two nights had passed. He hadn't rested at all, hadn't eaten anything. His entire being simply drifted through this hazy state in silence. The torment ravaged his heart ceaselessly. He didn't even know why he was in pain.
Ever since the day he had become a Soul Master, he had always stood at the pinnacle of his generation. Blue Silver Grass was not a powerful Martial Soul — it was practically a waste of a Martial Soul. But under the Great Master's guidance, his strength had never been inferior to those same-age Soul Masters who wielded powerful Martial Souls. He had even surpassed each of them. Over time, Tang San had all but forgotten about the inherent problems of his Blue Silver Grass. He had always placed himself on equal footing with those who possessed powerful Martial Souls, even feeling a certain sense of superiority.
But now, as he finally sat still and thought carefully, he realized — if not for the external spirit bone, the Eight Spider Lances, if not for the constant support of his companions and the sheer luck that had granted him those Soul Rings, perhaps he was nothing at all.
Every single one of his Soul Rings was superior in quality to anyone else's, but in the confrontation with Shui Bing'er, his Soul Skills had held no advantage whatsoever. This situation should perhaps have surfaced much earlier — it was just that in previous matches and battles, he had always used his wits to paper over the gap. And now that the inherent deficiency of Blue Silver Grass had been laid bare, Tang San was forced to confront his own problem.
A truly powerful Control Type Soul Master needed to not only control the battlefield, but also possess Soul Skills with offensive capability. Someone like Shui Bing'er, who wielded a Martial Soul Fusion Technique, was simply in a class of her own. But could his Blue Silver Grass do the same? No. Even though he had obtained a ten-thousand-year Soul Ring at just level forty, without relying on the external spirit bone, he held no advantage against Shui Bing'er whatsoever.
If the previous opponents had lost to him, it was less because they were outmatched in strength and more because they had fallen to his schemes. The moment he faced an opponent whose cunning rivaled his own, his deficiency in control would be instantly exposed. And this was after he had consumed the Eight-Pointed Mystic Ice Grass and the Flaming Apricot Delicacy. Without those two extraordinary herbs, his flaws would have been exposed even sooner — even Huo Wu could have defeated him easily.
Why? Why was it like this? Would all his years of effort go to waste? Tang San knew full well that the inherent shortcomings of his Martial Soul would become increasingly apparent as his Soul Power grew.
No. Absolutely not. Blue Silver Grass simply wasn't a good Martial Soul. While he was still young, there was still time to abandon it.
Tang San couldn't stop himself from thinking of his other Martial Soul — the Haotian Hammer. That was the inherited Martial Soul of the Haotian Sect, the foremost of the Seven Great Sects in the Soul Master world! If he had chosen to cultivate the Haotian Hammer from the start, his current strength would be far beyond what it was now. It would only have grown more powerful.
The more he thought about it, the less confidence he had in Blue Silver Grass. His mind churned like a storm-tossed sea. The chaotic thoughts drove him to the verge of madness.
Two full days without any cultivation — in the past, this would have been unimaginable for Tang San. He was such a diligent person. But now, he had not the slightest desire to train.
"Little Monster." A green figure appeared in the courtyard outside. The sudden voice jolted Tang San from the vortex of his pain.
Perhaps because the mental exhaustion of the past two days had been too great, the voice sounded familiar, yet Tang San couldn't immediately identify who it was.
He stood up and walked out of the cabin. He had been sitting for far too long, and when the blinding sunlight washed over his entire body, he couldn't help but sway.
"Little Monster, what's wrong with you?" The green figure had already arrived before Tang San in the next instant. A powerful hand clamped down firmly on his shoulder, and rich Soul Power — carrying a hint of dominance and wildness — surged into his body, lifting his spirits somewhat. Only then did he see clearly who had come.