Chapter 201: Tang San Returns, Yu Xiaogang Faces the Public Again
Following the intense battle between the Heaven Dou Second Team and the Tianshui Team, the rest of the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament preliminaries in the Heaven Dou division offered little excitement.
A few days later, Qian Xunji held a translucent, three-dimensional triangular object in his hand, gleaming like blue crystal.
This was the Heaven Dou Royal Academy's national treasure—the Vast Sea Cosmic Barrier. But in truth, it was a core component of the Seagod's divine weapon, the Seagod Trident. This "Seagod's Heart" housed three divine thoughts of the Seagod and possessed many mystical abilities. Without it, the last three of the Seagod's Nine Trials couldn't be completed, and the Seagod Trident couldn't be wielded.
After Qian Xunji's conversation with Emperor Xue Ye at the teahouse, the emperor summoned the three chief instructors of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy to the palace that very night. Following an all-night discussion and countless theoretical consultations, they confirmed that Qian Xunji's proposal was feasible and prepared to proceed with the deal.
This concerned the Snow family's future—there was no room for delay.
Qian Xunji traded the immortal herb for the Vast Sea Cosmic Barrier and three soul bones over 50,000 years old.
To the royal family, the barrier was just a peculiar, indestructible soul tool of unknown value. Because of its blue crystal appearance, it was stored as a national treasure. Since Qian Xunji seemed interested, they didn't mind parting with it.
However, the royal treasury couldn't produce three 50,000-year soul bones. Even the mighty Clear Sky Sect, the top of the Upper Three Sects, only had three inherited soul bones—and two of them had already been given to Tang Hao, now in Qian Xunji's possession.
After negotiation, the final deal was: one 50,000-year soul bone, three 10,000-year soul bones—the entire stock from the treasury—and ten million gold soul coins.
When Ning Fengzhi learned of the price, he was dismayed. While 10,000-year soul bones were considered priceless treasures, the deal Qian Xunji struck with the royal family for the Kirin Tulip herb far exceeded what the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan had paid—nearly draining the imperial treasury.
If Ning Fengzhi had known that Qian Xunji had intentionally weakened the herb's effects before the trade, he would've been furious.
Qian Xunji stored the Vast Sea Cosmic Barrier in his soul tool. A person could only inherit one god's position at a time—more precisely, a single body could only bear one godhood. In the original story, Tang San achieved dual godhood mainly because Xiao Wu, with her revived soul, acted as the vessel for the Shura God position.
Qian Renxue had no such luxury—there was no hundred-thousand-year spirit beast in human form to bear another godhood for him.
Between the Seagod, whose divine power conflicted with the Angel God, and the Shura God of the Slaughter City, it was far better to pursue the Shura path. The Shura God was already a fully realized God-King.
By taking the Vast Sea Cosmic Barrier, Qian Xunji had effectively severed Bibi Dong's path to godhood. Without the barrier, she could not complete the Seagod Trials. Likewise, the Rakshasa Trials required the devouring of a Seraphim Spirit Master—another impossible condition if Qian Xunji intervened.
In the tournament's final match, Tianshui Academy defeated Blue Tyrant Academy in just under a minute.
With the preliminaries concluded, the awards ceremony was held to issue advancement credentials to the top five teams.
The top five were: a tie between Tianshui Academy and the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team for first place, followed by Thunderclap Academy, Blazing Fire Academy, and Divine Wind Academy.
The ceremony was simple. At the host's announcement, the captains and vice-captains of the top five teams walked onto the stage.
"Next, His Majesty, Sect Master Ning of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, and Platinum Bishop Salas will personally present the advancement credentials and prizes to the five qualifying teams."
Emperor Xue Ye's gaze swept over the team representatives, lingering on Gu Chen for a few seconds before smiling.
"First of all, children, congratulations."
"You've successfully earned a spot in the finals of this year's All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament. As the supreme ruler of the Heaven Dou Empire, I'm proud of you. You are the future hope of the empire. As captains and vice-captains, your strength played a decisive role in your teams' success. Therefore, I have decided to grant you the noble title of Viscount."
"Among you, three individuals have displayed exceptional talent and strength—Gu Chen, son of Bone Douluo; Qian Renxue, son of His Holiness the Pope; and Shui Bing'er, captain of Tianshui Academy. I hereby confer upon these three the noble title of Earl!"
The entire audience gasped. An earl's title—what did that mean? In the vast Heaven Dou Empire with a population in the hundreds of millions, there weren't even a hundred earls. These youths, still so young, had already reached the peak of the continent.
"All other participating team members from these five academies will be granted the title of Baron. After your graduation, the imperial gates will always be open to you. Your fiefs will be assigned upon graduation."
This time, Salas didn't interrupt—after all, the title of Earl was quite high, equivalent to a Marquis overseeing a thousand households. Emperor Xue Ye was indeed generous.
If Qian Xunji had known what Salas was thinking at that moment, he'd probably have whipped him on the spot.
These five academy teams, as long as they continued training diligently, would at the very least reach the Soul Sage level in the future. Their captains and vice-captains were all Soul Douluo candidates, with a few possibly reaching Title Douluo. In the noble circles of Heaven Dou City, barons and viscounts were bottom-tier. At the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, they'd be the ones shining shoes, fetching stools—basically glorified servants.
For the Platinum Bishop of Spirit Hall to think like this—was it deliberate ignorance or just no brain at all?
Emperor Xue Ye continued with a smile: "The upcoming promotion tournament will still be held within the empire. However, the venue will shift from the Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena to the royal hunting grounds. By then, ten teams from the five duchies and kingdoms who have passed their own preliminaries will arrive to compete with you."
"I hope the five of your academies perform exceptionally in the promotion rounds. That way, you'll have a strong starting advantage when entering the finals."
"The promotion tournament is the best stage to showcase your personal strength. The top three students with the most individual victories will be rewarded by the empire with the soul beast needed for their next title advancement. You can freely choose the soul beast's type—any with cultivation under 30,000 years will be provided by the empire."
After the award ceremony, there was still a month before the promotion tournament. Members of both the Heaven Dou Second Team and the Tianshui Team devoted themselves to intense training.
Gu Chen didn't bother pursuing Xiao Wu anymore. Instead, he immersed himself in training under the guidance of his father, Bone Douluo, and his godfather, Sword Douluo. He was determined to crush Qian Renxue, who like him had twin spirits, and prove himself as the greatest genius on the continent. His competitive drive was inherited directly from Bibi Dong.
At Heaven Dou Royal Academy, after a month, Tang San finally returned from the Star Dou Forest.
"Brother, where have you been!?"
After a full month apart, Xiao Wu couldn't hide her longing. She threw herself into Tang San's arms.
Holding her soft and warm body, Tang San instinctively tensed up, alert for Gu Chen's sudden appearance—a trauma from two years of constant suppression.
Seeing that Gu Chen wasn't there, he gently stroked Xiao Wu's delicate face and spoke apologetically: "Xiao Wu, I went with Father to obtain the fourth soul ring for my Blue Silver Grass. I was too overwhelmed during the match at Heaven Dou Arena and didn't even leave a note. I made you worry."
"Brother, you've resolved your spirit's defect! I knew you were the best! That ugly Gu Chen is nothing compared to you!"
Xiao Wu bounced excitedly. Half a month ago, when Gu Chen revealed his twin spirits, she had truly panicked, worried that her third brother might lose in three years' time.
"Xiao San, you've broken through to Soul Ancestor!?"
Dai Mubai, Oscar, Ma Hongjun, and Zhu Zhuqing also came over.
A strange light flashed in Dai Mubai's eyes. Over the past half month, he'd grown close to Gu Chen—Gu Chen even called him "Mubai." Now that Tang San had solved the Blue Silver Grass bottleneck, who should he align with?
"Yes, with help from Grandpa's Crystal Blood Ginseng. As long as I don't stray from my path again, I should be able to continue cultivating."
Tang San revealed his fourth soul ring, and his Blue Silver Grass Spirit once again radiated a deep blue glow, surrounded by two yellow and two purple rings.
Ma Hongjun clenched his fists in excitement: "That's great! With Third Brother back, Tianshui Team is no longer a threat. We'll definitely win the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament this year!"
Tang San frowned. "Boss Dai… you lost to the Tianshui Team?"
"No, we tied. Same as last time. But now that you're with us, we'll definitely win the next round!"
"Xiao San."
Flender walked over, worry evident on his face. His glasses, broken by Yu Luomian's punch, had already been replaced.
"Dean, what is it?"
"Xiao San, now that your spirit issue is resolved… would you go visit Xiao Gang? It was his mistake that delayed your cultivation, but he's been suffering because of it."
"He's locked himself in his room for nearly a month."
Flender left out some details—Yu Xiaogang wasn't just hiding out because of his mistake with Tang San. Rumors about his past with Liu Erlong had spread, and his reputation was ruined. His dream of fame was now impossible.
Tang San lowered his head and sighed. A teacher for a day, a father for life. In both his past and present lives, Yu Xiaogang had been a father figure. At first, Tang San had felt deep resentment after learning Yu Xiaogang had ruined his cultivation path, trapping him at level 39. But now, having resolved the issue, most of that resentment had faded. After all, Yu Xiaogang had genuinely cared for him.
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