Xiao Wu felt like nothing more than a tool in Tang San's eyes, leaving her with an intense feeling of discomfort.
At midnight, the system rewards came as scheduled.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, for completing today's diary entry. You have received a reward: Drone.]
[Drone: Stealth surveillance tool capable of live streaming footage directly to the diary for Host's viewing.]
Su Ming was a bit surprised by the reward but quickly understood. With this, he wouldn't have to monitor Tang San all the time. Of course, he still planned to watch matches firsthand, as he could often spot subtle clues in person.
[Ding! Due to today's live broadcast, all female leads have received a unified reward: Bloodline Attribute Lock.]
[Bloodline Attribute Lock: Protects your bloodline and elemental attributes from being absorbed by malevolent forces.]
Seeing this, the female leads were first overjoyed and then even more convinced of Su Ming's suspicions. After all, the system wouldn't offer such a reward without cause.
With the system's protection, the female leads felt a wave of relief. While they couldn't predict when they might come into contact with Tang San, this measure gave them peace of mind—they didn't want their own potential affected. As for their team members, they'd do their best to protect them, prioritizing targeting Tang San early in the match to knock him out of the ring first.
If Tang San was on Thunderclap Academy's team, then the rest would have to fend for themselves. Tang San would likely keep his actions low-profile and wouldn't absorb too much energy to avoid suspicion, but luck would still play a part.
With the system's protection, the female leads decided on a plan: if they encountered Tang San in the tournament, they'd do their best to seriously injure him, stopping him from advancing further!
[Ding! Today's most mentioned female lead is Xiao Wu, receiving the reward of +10,000-year enhancement to her first three spirit rings!]
Boom!
Xiao Wu instantly felt her spirit rings strengthen. Most notably, her first spirit skill, Waist Bow, became significantly more powerful. She could now perform many high-difficulty maneuvers with ease.
The next day, Su Ming went to the Heaven Dou Grand Spirit Arena as usual. Thunderclap Academy was up against a lesser-known advanced academy with no spirit masters at the Spirit Elder level. Despite this, they didn't plan to concede, assuming Thunderclap Academy would be tired from yesterday's intense match against Elephant Armor Academy and thinking they had a slight chance.
For this match, Yu Tianheng replaced Lei Tian, the Spirit Eagle user, as Lei Tian had suffered a minor injury yesterday from Huyan Li's spirit skill. Yu Tianheng, itching for action, eagerly took his place. Thunderclap Academy steamrolled the other team, who struggled even to break free from Tang San's Blue Silver Grass, and were swiftly taken down.
On the stage, Yu Tianxin commented, "Tang San, your Blue Silver Grass control was pretty impressive today. You seem to have found your rhythm."
Tang San smiled, "As the team's control spirit master, I have to learn from each match."
After the match, Tang San discreetly touched each team member—subtly enough that no one noticed.
This time, Su Ming watched the match from a secluded spot, using his special Mangekyo Sharingan ability to scrutinize Tang San's every move. Sure enough, Tang San's actions during and after the match were suspicious.
Today, Su Ming noticed something new: Tang San's Blue Silver Grass seemed to handle the electrical properties of Yu Tianxin's spirit power better than before. Blue Silver Grass was typically vulnerable to lightning, as it lacked any natural resistance to electricity. During the battle, it usually would've been affected by Yu Tianxin's dispersed lightning, even if not directly targeted. But today, the Blue Silver Grass seemed more resistant to interference, with noticeably improved control precision.
Could Tang San's Xuantian Skill have absorbed Yu Tianxin's spirit power, adding Thunder attributes to his Blue Silver Grass? Though this was just a theory, Su Ming felt confident he was on the right track. Thunderclap Academy would have several more matches, so he'd have ample opportunity to confirm his suspicions.
After the match, Xiao Wu asked, "Brother, did you notice anything strange? Why did you pick such a secluded spot and go to the trouble of using your eye technique?"
Su Ming shook his head. "I'm not entirely certain yet. Let me observe a few more matches."
Seeing Su Ming's frown, Xiao Wu grew uneasy, realizing that Tang San likely posed a genuine threat.
Once the match ended, Tang San left the arena along with the rest of his team. Su Ming mentally activated his new drone, which had been waiting outside the arena, ready to track Tang San's movements.
From the drone's live feed, Su Ming saw Tang San making up an excuse to part ways with his teammates. Now alone, Tang San wandered aimlessly through the crowded city center. Maybe because the match had just ended, he seemed a little hungry and bought some snacks as he strolled.
Watching Tang San's actions, Su Ming grew 98% sure of his theory: Tang San's Xuantian Skill had indeed mutated.