Chapter 172: Tang San Returns? Master: The Advantage Lies with Me!
The sun shone brightly, the sky a clear, cloudless expanse.
A gentle, warm breeze, carrying a hint of heat, drifted across the Shrek Academy's playground. Many students in their dingy green uniforms could be seen moving about.
Not far away, Grandmaster sat in a wheelchair, covered with a thin blanket.
Although his complexion was still pale, it was much better than it had been months ago. Liu Erlong stood quietly behind him, holding a half-finished bowl of medicinal soup.
It turned out that Liu Erlong had rushed back to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan overnight, begging Yu Yuanzhen, who was in seclusion, to save him. When he learned that his own son had been severely injured by Dugu Bo after having his bloodline drained, this Thunder Douluo was furious, but ultimately reason prevailed over his anger. After all, making an enemy of someone like Dugu Bo for a piece of trash was not a wise move.
Finally, the old father secretly allowed Liu Erlong to take away the sect's treasured Resurrection Grass and Dragon Blood Ginseng, barely managing to keep Grandmaster alive.
At this moment, a row of students stood neatly before Grandmaster.
They were Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, Zhu Zhuqing, Oscar, Xiao Wu, as well as Tailong, Huang Yuan, Jing Ling, Jiang Zhu, and others.
The last four were the main force that Liu Erlong had prepared for this year's Soul Master Competition before Blue Tyrant Academy was renamed Shrek Academy.
They were all elites whom Liu Erlong had painstakingly cultivated and kept within the academy.
Looking at the group of people before him, Grandmaster's expression turned grim. He sighed and said, "Although Mu Bai's soul power has just broken through to level forty, the overall strength of the Shrek Academy team is far inferior to what it used to be. Ning Rongrong dropped out of school and returned to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, and Xiao San is still missing... Alas, with the Soul Master Competition just around the corner, we can't even muster a complete seven-person lineup. Shrek Academy like this will probably struggle to even qualify for the preliminary rounds."
"Shrek Academy... it's finished."
Hearing this, Liu Erlong placed the medicine bowl on the stone platform beside her, gently placed her hand on Grandmaster's trembling shoulder, and softly comforted him. "Xiao Gang, don't say that. The little monsters are still young. Even if we're eliminated this time, five years from now, they'll become a team that will shock the entire continent. Right now, taking care of your health is the most important thing."
The master sighed deeply, his cloudy eyes filled with dejection, and said, "Erlong, you don't need to comfort me. With the lineup so depleted, we don't even know if Xiao San will come back. What future can we talk about? How can Mu Bai alone carry this mess? My spirit theory is probably..."
"How could that be? The children are all working hard. Mu Bai broke through level forty, and Fatty and Zhu Qing have also made rapid progress. Even if the results aren't good this time, it's still valuable experience. Your health has only just started to improve; you mustn't overwork yourself or get upset." Liu Erlong tightened his grip slightly, continuing to comfort him.
At this moment, apart from Zhu Zhuqing, no one noticed that Dai Mu Bai's face had become extremely pale. His face was ashen, and his clenched fists were white at the knuckles.
The cruel competition rules of the Star Luo Empire's royal family.
If he were to lose to his brother in this competition, what awaited him would not only be defeat, but also the tragic end of having his soul power crippled and being completely exiled. The immense pressure weighed on Dai Mubai's heart like a boulder, almost suffocating him.
"Master! What can you do besides sighing and saying we're finished all day?" His chest heaved violently, and the long-suppressed anger in Dai Mubai's wicked eyes finally erupted.
"Didn't you claim to be invincible in theory? Now the team is short-handed and lacks strength; isn't this precisely the time when you need to find a solution? All you do is sit in your wheelchair complaining that it's all over, all over! You just run away from setbacks; is this your so-called masterly demeanor?"
"We haven't even stepped onto the field yet, and you've already sentenced us to death! Since you think we're doomed to lose, what's the point of us participating? We might as well just disband!" He took a sudden step forward, his voice filled with barely suppressed resentment.
"You...you..."
The master trembled with rage at the sudden retort, his finger quivering as he pointed at Dai Mubai. His face flushed crimson, his chest heaving violently, and he nearly fainted.
Seeing this, Liu Erlong's expression darkened, and she shouted sharply, "Mubai! Shut up! How can you speak to your teacher like that!"
Dai Mubai, consumed by rage, had long since disregarded respect for hierarchy. He abruptly turned to Liu Erlong, his eyes bloodshot, and his voice even more agitated, "Teacher? Look at him now! Besides slumping there wallowing in self-pity and spouting discouraging words, does he have any semblance of a teacher?!"
He didn't wait for Liu Erlong's rebuttal, directly targeting the latter. "And you, Vice Dean Erlong! Besides spending all day feeding him medicine and going along with his endless 'it's all over' nonsense, what substantial preparations have you made for the academy?"
"One of you only knows how to sigh, and the other only knows how to take care of the one who sighs! You don't care at all whether Shrek Academy is finished or not, right?!"
Dai Mubai's words came out like a machine gun, filled with long-suppressed resentment and unwillingness, pouring out all the panic and pressure in his heart.
"What do you know! No matter how strong my spirit theory is, can I conjure a soul bone out of thin air? Can I find Tang San and Ning Rongrong?!" Grandmaster was provoked by Dai Mubai's words and slammed his hand on the armrest of his wheelchair, struggling to stand up. His pale face turned purple, and he retorted sharply.
"On the contrary, it's you! Dai Mubai!"
Then, as if he had seized some handle, his finger trembled as he pointed at Dai Mubai, and his tone became harsh and out of control. "Don't think I don't know! Back in Soto City, you spent your days frequenting brothels, neglecting your cultivation! Now, with a formidable enemy at hand, instead of thinking about how to improve, you have the nerve to criticize me?"
"If you hadn't been so lazy in your cultivation, you wouldn't be just a Soul Master now! You should reflect on whether you've been seriously cultivating all these years!"
The master's utterly disrespectful roar and public shaming completely destroyed the solemn atmosphere of the pre-match mobilization meeting, turning it into something as unbearable as a street brawl.
Publicly exposed by the master, a cold killing intent flashed in Dai Mubai's eyes, his evil gaze revealing a fierce light. He took a step forward, his soul power fluctuating violently.
However, the instant his foot landed, a sudden change occurred!
A dozen jet-black Blue Silver Grasses, shimmering with a dark luster, burst forth from the ground beneath his feet without warning, rapidly coiling upwards like living venomous pythons, instantly converging above his head, finally weaving into a sturdy cage, trapping him firmly in place!
"What is this?!"
Upon seeing this, Dai Mubai's expression changed drastically. The familiar control method and the powerful, cold aura sent a shock through him, and he subconsciously exclaimed in a low voice: "Black Blue Silver Grass? Tang San?!"
The thought had barely crossed his mind when he abruptly turned around.
A blue figure, swift as lightning, leaped down from the rooftop beside the playground, hurtling towards him with icy chill!
The figure's speed was extreme, almost leaving a blur in the air.
The next second, a sharp whooshing sound pierced his throat!
Dai Mubai didn't even have time to fully activate his soul power before a spider-like leg, shimmering with a chilling purple light and seemingly cast in metal, had already stopped precisely before his Adam's apple, the cold tip sending shivers down his spine.
Just one more inch and it would easily pierce his throat.
"Little...Little San? Is it really you? You're back?!" Seeing that familiar yet strangely cold figure, Grandmaster was first stunned, then his face lit up with wild joy. He was so excited he almost struggled to his feet from his wheelchair, his voice trembling.
Seeing the newcomer, the eyes of everyone on the playground also shone with surprise.
Xiao Wu's eyes reddened, and she cried out excitedly, "Brother!" She then rushed over as usual.
However, Tang San didn't greet her first as he always did. Instead, he fixed his icy gaze on Dai Mubai and said coldly, "Dai Mubai, you dared to insult my teacher while I was away. I think you... are ready to die!"
Hearing this, Dai Mubai froze, his Adam's apple bobbing laboriously under the sharp spear tip.
A disdainful smirk played on Tang San's lips as he continued coldly, "For the sake of our years as classmates, and with the Continental Advanced Soul Master Elite Competition about to begin, the academy needs manpower... I'll spare you this time."
He paused slightly, his killing intent intensifying, "If there's a next time, I'll use your blood to wash away the insult you've done to my teacher!"
With that, Tang San's mind flickered, and the dark blue-silver cage instantly disintegrated, transforming into streaks of black light that retreated into his body. At the same time, the Eight Spider Lances on his back also retracted with a whoosh.
Ignoring Dai Mubai's ashen face and silent demeanor, Tang San turned and strode to Grandmaster. Under everyone's gaze, he knelt down without hesitation.
"Teacher! Your disciple is unfilial, I'm late!"
"I've worried you, I've humiliated you!"
Looking at his disciple kneeling before him, Grandmaster's eyes were filled with excitement and relief. He quickly reached out a trembling hand to help him up: "Get up, get up! It's good you're back, it's good you're back! It's not late, not late at all, it's just in time!"
Tang San obeyed and rose, but said nothing more. Instead, he slowly raised his right hand, and a faint black light emanated from his palm.
Immediately afterward, a Blue Silver Grass, completely different in form from before, quietly sprouted. Its leaves were thicker, with fine serrations along the edges, and its entire body was a deep, dark black.
However, what caused the entire audience to fall silent and everyone's pupils to shrink was that, along with the appearance of this mutated Blue Silver Grass, four spirit rings also spiraled upwards from Tang San's feet!
Two yellow, one purple, and…
finally, that deep, chilling black spirit ring!
The moment this black spirit ring appeared, it seemed as if even the surrounding sunlight was swallowed up.
"Wh…what?!"
Grandmaster's exclamation suddenly rose, his body leaning slightly forward, his gaze fixed on the black ten-thousand-year spirit ring, his voice trembling.
"This…how is this possible? A ten-thousand-year spirit ring! A black fourth spirit ring!?"
As he spoke, he rubbed his eyes vigorously, then shook his head, carefully observing the black ten-thousand-year spirit ring on Tang San's body.
His theoretical knowledge told him that this was absolutely impossible!
The limit of the fourth spirit ring was clearly around seven thousand years, how could it absorb a ten-thousand-year spirit ring?
"Teacher, have you forgotten that my greatest skill is turning the impossible into the possible? Now, do you think we have a chance in this competition?" Tang San smiled slightly.
Suddenly raising his head, the dejection and despair in the master's eyes were instantly replaced by a blazing light. He seemed to be infused with boundless energy, exclaiming, "Good! Good! Good! Little San, you've returned just in time!"
"As expected of my disciple, Yu Xiaogang! A ten-thousand-year-old fourth spirit ring—on the entire Douluo Continent, such a feat is probably unprecedented and unparalleled!"
"With your ten-thousand-year-old fourth spirit ring, coupled with your formidable control and command abilities, the advantage in this Spirit Master Competition will undoubtedly be on Shrek Academy's side!"
"It's done! My spirit theory, Yu Xiaogang's theory, is complete! A ten-thousand-year-old fourth spirit ring!"
"From today onwards, let's see who dares to question my spirit theory!"
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[end of the chapter]