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Amid the miasma left by the evaporated "liquid," Dai Mubai, eyes tearing and nose running, shouted, "Oscar! Fight me head-on like a real man, without these dirty tricks!"
"Boss Dai, this is my soul skill, so it's as legit as any direct attack," Oscar replied. "Besides, you can't expect a food-type spirit master like me to engage in close combat with a beast spirit master, right?" As the source of the miasma, Oscar was immune to its toxic effects, but even he looked uncomfortable—overwhelmed by the stench his own skill had produced.
The smell was unbearable, even for him.
Determined to finish the fight quickly, Oscar took advantage of Dai Mubai's weakened state and used his third soul skill, shooting out sticky white threads to bind him tightly.
The combined assault of the foul stench, the disgusting white threads, and the toxins they carried was too much for Dai Mubai, who collapsed in bitter defeat.
In his final moments before losing consciousness, Dai Mubai swore to himself that, given the chance, he'd make sure Oscar paid for this humiliation.
This so-called "brotherhood"—
He could do without it!
Meanwhile, Ma Hongjun and the remaining Shrek members were struggling, facing heavy blows from the White Tiger Clan members and already down three fighters. With no other choice, Oscar joined the fray, using the agility granted by his Eight Spider Lances to inject the mixed poisons of his Human-Faced Demon Spider and other insect spirits into the enemies, swiftly taking them down one by one.
Poison—the mere mention of it was enough to strike fear.
Ultimately, the Shrek Team emerged victorious in the first round of the qualifiers.
Instantly, the entire arena erupted in boos.
Even Shrek Academy's leaders, like Flender and Zhao Wuji, looked a bit embarrassed. Still, Oscar's victory was within the rules—his soul skill might have been distasteful, but it was legal.
Yu Xiaogang, however, remained unfazed. Exceptional talents, he mused, often attract criticism from the masses.
Take himself, for example: Yu Xiaogang, a theoretical master of spirit cultivation, endowed with vast knowledge and unparalleled talent, yet misunderstood and disparaged.
Oscar, as his disciple, was no different—destined to be misunderstood by the world.
Truth, after all, is only in the hands of a few!
As for Tang San and the others…
Yu Xiaogang already excluded them from this line of comparison, confident that in terms of covert lethality, not even Tang San could rival the potency of Oscar's toxins.
The real concern lay in the upcoming second match. Among the competing teams was the Spirit Hall team, and the configuration of their spirit rings made Yu Xiaogang's eyes widen with shock.
Each member of this Spirit Hall team possessed spirit rings at the millennium level for their first, second, and third rings—and even the fourth ring was at the ten-thousand-year level!
A ten-thousand-year fourth ring had been seen in the last tournament, so its reappearance wasn't surprising. But what puzzled Yu Xiaogang and others was how these Spirit Hall members achieved a thousand-year ring for their very first spirit ring.
Some people even recognized certain members of the Spirit Hall team and knew their previous spirit ring configurations: two yellow and one purple, or two yellow and two purple.
Now, though, their configurations had become uniformly three purple, one black, or three purple, two black.
Could it be that Tang San had discovered a way to discard spirit rings without side effects, allowing a spirit master to remove previously absorbed rings and hunt new spirit beasts?
Hmm…
The idea was tempting, but the toll it would take on the soul beast population would be unsustainable. Tang San wouldn't pursue such an "unsustainable" approach, at least not at this stage.
To outsiders, the concept of "upgrading spirit ring years" was beyond imagination, as it lay firmly outside the boundaries of their understanding.
"Xiao Gang, how do you think the Spirit Hall team managed this?" Flender asked, his tone somber as he watched the Spirit Hall team members on the screen, dominating their opponents with overwhelming strength. "Judging from what we've seen, if our team faces the Spirit Hall team, we might not even make the top three."
Oscar had his strengths, but the spirit ring configurations of the Spirit Hall team were simply too overwhelming.
Yu Xiaogang didn't answer immediately. Instead, he observed the Spirit Hall team's soul skill effects carefully, his brow furrowed as he said, "The power of their first two soul skills doesn't seem proportional to the millennium-level rings… It actually appears that their spirit power consumption is lower, allowing for more frequent usage."
Flender, with his limited theoretical knowledge, replied, "Higher spirit ring years should mean stronger soul skill effects. But if their skills don't match the strength of their spirit rings and can be used multiple times… that's certainly strange."
"Unless…" A glint sparked in Yu Xiaogang's eyes. "They didn't replace their spirit rings. Instead, they extended their spirit rings' years!"
"Exactly! That's the only explanation!"
"Back when I was in Spirit Hall, I came across a rare document that mentioned the gods. It spoke of divine trials: when a person passes a god's test, they are granted a reward that increases their spirit ring years. The power of the soul skill remains unchanged, but spirit power consumption decreases… Spirit Hall's team members must have extended their spirit ring years."
"This leads to a new theory I've formulated: as the years on a spirit ring increase, the soul skill's power grows. However, if a spirit master increases the years of a spirit ring after absorbing it, the soul skill's power won't rise further; only the spirit power consumption decreases."
Taking out a notepad from his spirit storage tool, Yu Xiaogang quickly jotted down the theory, letting out a breath of relief before tension filled his gaze once more. "These Spirit Hall members must have taken a godly trial to enhance their rings. Which means Spirit Hall has a god among them..."
His eyes drifted to the center of the VIP section, where Bibi Dong sat serenely—
*She is the heir of the gods!*
Just wait, Bibi Dong. I will raise Oscar to godhood as well! Even if he can't receive a divine trial, his Eight Spider Lances have limitless evolution potential, allowing him to endlessly absorb energy, strengthen his body, and increase his spirit power. He will surely reach the legendary hundredth rank!
Once he breaks through Rank 100, even if Oscar's techniques are still unrefined, the world will celebrate him—and redefine what it means to be "unrefined"!
In the VIP section, Xue Beng observed the unique colors of the Spirit Hall team's spirit rings. Curious, he turned to Bibi Dong and asked, "Your Holiness, how did Spirit Hall's team members achieve such a configuration? With those spirit rings, they've completely surpassed the traditional 'optimal spirit ring ratio,' haven't they?"
Optimal spirit ring ratio?
That concept lost relevance after Tang San's Theory of Optimal Spirit Ring Configurations was published. Especially within Spirit City, where spirit masters can now extend their spirit ring years by hunting spirit beasts in a specially constructed illusionary realm.
"It's no secret," Bibi Dong replied, aware that the moment the Spirit Hall team displayed their spirit rings, countless others would begin to investigate. It was better to reveal it openly than to shroud it in mystery.
After all, even if outsiders learned about it, it wouldn't matter.
Without Tang San's permissions, no one could access the illusionary realm for spirit beasts.
Eventually, if other nations wanted access to the spirit beast realm, they would have to allow Tang San's spirit to be embedded within their territories, expanding the reach of the Blue Silver Network.
As the Blue Silver Network expands, so does the Starry Sky World, attracting more users, which in turn increases the daily accumulation of spiritual energy…a tremendous benefit for Spirit Hall's development.
As for the ultimate control of Starry Sky World, the Blue Silver Network, and the entity known as *[Heaven's Will]* resting with Tang San… Bibi Dong had no concern that he would betray Spirit Hall.
Spirit Hall's growth to this stage was due largely to Tang San's theoretical guidance.
If Tang San knew how highly Bibi Dong thought of him, he would certainly be embarrassed. Spirit Hall's success was as much due to her courage in following his suggestions and willingness to experiment.
Initially, Bibi Dong had implemented Tang San's experimental advice with intentions of destabilizing Spirit Hall. But as time went on, her perspective shifted...
It was undeniable: Spirit Hall could no longer thrive without Tang San!
"Spirit Hall's spirit ring configuration is largely due to Tang San's development and utilization of his martial spirit…"
(End of chapter)