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Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena was quiet. Inside the Shrek Academy lounge, the air felt heavy. Most of the team members had already left to celebrate or rest. Only Yu Xiaogang and Tang San remained in the large, empty room. The silence was a sharp contrast to the loud cheers that had filled the arena only an hour ago.
The match against Blazing Academy had just finished. Shrek Academy won, but it was a very close call. Tang San sat on a bench, staring at his hands. Usually, his Blue Silver Grass was his greatest tool, but today it felt like a burden. The fire from his opponents had turned his vines to ash almost instantly. His control over the battlefield had vanished.
If it wasn't for the raw power of Yu Tianheng and Dai Mubai, they would have lost. Even then, Tang San had to use his secret weapon at the very last second. The new spirit bone in his right arm, taken from a ten-thousand-year spider spirit, was the only reason they walked away with a victory.
Yu Xiaogang sat in his wheelchair. He watched Tang San for a long time. The young man was standing by the window now, looking out at the city lights. He looked tired and frustrated. Yu Xiaogang decided to speak. He asked softly if Tang San was going back to rest or if something else was on his mind.
Tang San turned around quickly. He walked over to his teacher with a serious face. He didn't speak at first. He looked down, his jaw tight. It was clear that he was struggling with a difficult choice. Finally, he looked Yu Xiaogang in the eyes. His voice was deep and full of emotion. He told his teacher that he wanted to start training his second spirit, the Clear Sky Hammer.
Yu Xiaogang did not look surprised. He did not get angry or tell Tang San it was a bad idea. Instead, he looked at Tang San with deep, thoughtful eyes. He asked Tang San why he suddenly wanted to do this.
Tang San felt a little better because Yu Xiaogang was listening. He let out a long breath. All the anger and sadness from the day's fight came out at once. He told his teacher that the Blue Silver Grass was starting to show its limits. He called it a trash spirit. He explained that as his rank went up, the gap between his spirit and others was getting wider.
He compared himself to his friends. He mentioned Dai Mubai's White Tiger and Fatty's Phoenix. He even brought up Yu Tianheng's Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. He said those spirits were born strong.
As those boys grew in power, their spirits became much more terrifying. Tang San opened his hand, and a small, dark blue vine appeared. He looked at it with disappointment. He acknowledged that it had mutated and gained the power to drain energy, but it still felt weak to him.
Tang San continued his rant. He said the Blue Silver Grass was too fragile. No matter how many good spirit rings he found, the basic spirit was still just grass. It couldn't compare to the top-tier spirits his friends had. He admitted that the only reason he was still ahead was luck. He had the Eight Spider Lances and a spirit ring that was beyond his level.
Without those extra things, he felt Mubai and Fatty would have passed him a long time ago. Today's match made him feel helpless. He told Yu Xiaogang that he didn't think he could go much further as a Spirit Master if he only used the grass.
Yu Xiaogang nodded. He understood exactly what Tang San was feeling. He rolled his wheelchair closer and spoke in a very serious tone. He told Tang San that he had been thinking about these same problems lately. However, he warned that training two spirits at the same time was very dangerous. The biggest problem was that the spirits could fight each other inside the body. If the attributes of the spirit rings were too different, it could be fatal.
He reminded Tang San that he was only the third person ever known to have twin spirits. He said that many people in history were smart enough to think of using two spirits to fix weaknesses, but most failed. He talked about the history kept by Spirit Hall. The first person who tried to add rings to a second spirit had the same thoughts as Tang San. That person also felt their first spirit was too weak. But when that master added a third ring to the second spirit, the power clash was too much. His body couldn't take it, and he exploded.
Tang San turned pale. His eyes went wide with fear. He repeated the words, asking if the man really exploded and died. Yu Xiaogang nodded sadly. It was a cold, hard truth. But he offered a bit of hope. He said that the records showed the first two rings were usually safe. The real danger started with the third ring.
Tang San was stunned for a moment. Then he grew curious. He asked who the other person with twin spirits was and if they had succeeded. Yu Xiaogang's face became very complicated. He looked like he was thinking of a long-ago memory. He said the second person was a success. She was now one of the strongest people in the world. He revealed that she was Bibi Dong, the Supreme Pontiff of Spirit Hall.
Tang San was shocked. The news that the most powerful woman on the continent had twin spirits was harder to believe than the story of the man who exploded. Yu Xiaogang looked at Tang San's face and gave a small nod. He said he knew her when they were young. He told Tang San not to worry. He promised to help find a way to train the second spirit safely. He even said he would go to Spirit City in a few days to talk to her. He believed she would help him because of their past relationship.
Tang San took a deep breath. He decided to trust his teacher. He asked the most important question. He wanted to know if he should start adding rings to the Clear Sky Hammer now. He also asked what kind of spirit ring he should look for.
Yu Xiaogang started thinking. He tapped his fingers on his wheelchair. After a while, he looked up. His eyes were bright with excitement. He told Tang San to go ahead and do it. Since the first two rings were safe, they should take the chance. For the attribute, he suggested fire.
Tang San was confused. He asked why he would pick fire for a hammer. He thought the Clear Sky Hammer was a power spirit and that fire wouldn't fit. He also reminded his teacher that they were just beaten by fire spirits.
Yu Xiaogang's voice got louder. He sounded very excited now. He said that because fire countered them, they needed to learn to control it. He explained a theory he had. He used a pot of boiling water as an example. He said everyone knows water puts out fire. But if the fire is hot enough, it turns water into steam.
He brought up a rival, Tang Chen. He said Tang Chen's Blue Silver Grass was strong because of its life force. That life force was like water. Yu Xiaogang argued that if Tang San's hammer had fire power, he could burn through that life force. It would be a perfect counter.
Tang San thought about this for a moment. A new idea came to him. He asked if he could do the opposite with his Blue Silver Grass. He wondered if he could add ice or water rings to the grass to protect it from fire. Even if it didn't win every time, he hoped it would at least keep the grass from burning away so easily in a fight.