Chapter 45: One's Own Path
Everyone watched the scene unfold, as Shi Yi had described. Without their support, the Imperial Fighters quickly fell into a disadvantage. Despite their level advantage, Shrek had the support of two supporters. Adding to the immense pressure from Tang San and Zhu Zhuqing, Tang San's immense firepower and Zhu Zhuqing's elusive speed left the Imperial Fighters helpless.
No one in the Imperial Fighters could capture Zhu Zhuqing's presence. They tried to defeat Tang San, but were overwhelmed by his exquisite form and constant stream of hidden weapons. Tang San even had the mushroom sausage Oscar had given him, unused. Without support, the Imperial Fighters suffered more and more injuries. Dugu Yan attempted to turn the tables with her area-of-effect toxin, but was defeated by Tang San's original techniques.
As one side gained strength while the other lost, the Imperial Fighters dwindled, leaving only two Black Tortoise Spirit Masters standing. Facing the still-fully-equipped Shrek, they reluctantly conceded defeat. This is often the case with defensive Spirit Masters: they rely on defense to hold out, but they're powerless to change the tide of battle.
Doudou, the White Dove Spirit Master and host, had been dazed, suddenly awakening from her dream and announcing, "Team Spirit Battle, Shrek Seven Devils win."
Instead of cheers, the stands were filled with shouts and curses. The audience had never imagined that the Shrek Seven Devils, participating in their first team Spirit Battle, could overcome the considerable disparity in Spirit Power and win the Imperial Fight. This left the frenzied gamblers completely out of luck.
Oscar distributed his recovery sausages to the crowd, who exchanged glances with varying expressions.
Tang San's gaze lingered on Zhu Zhuqing, and only averted itself after Xiao Wu tugged at her sleeve. Dai Mubai, too, looked at her with a complicated expression. He knew exactly where the key to victory in this team battle lay, and Zhu Zhuqing had perfectly executed what a sensitive attack-type spirit master should do.
Ning Rongrong excitedly gazed at Zhu Zhuqing beside her, her pretty face radiating immense satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment.
Ma Hongjun was also in high spirits, even imagining what kind of girl he'd choose to spend the night with. With such a victory, his teacher would surely grant him a day off. He'd been simmering down for months during training, and while his evil fire hadn't flared up, he'd grown accustomed to this kind of life and couldn't resist the wonderful feeling.
Meanwhile, as the Soul Fighting ended, Ye Lingling slowly emerged from her coma. Upon learning she'd lost, a flicker of self-blame crossed her face, and she began treating the Imperial Fighters.
As the Imperial Fighters awoke one after another, their faces became so grim they looked as if they were about to shed tears.
Yufeng and Oslo's faces were filled with complexities as they gazed at Zhu Zhuqing's figure. Dugu Yan stared intently at Tang San, who had broken free of her poison.
The Shi brothers and Ye Lingling were silent, their thoughts unsettled.
Yu Tianheng sighed inwardly. As the captain of the Royal Fighting Team, he had borne almost the entire Shrek Seven Devils' firepower, yet he had persevered to the very end. He knew in his heart that the Royal Fighting Team had already lost the Soul Battle the moment Ye Lingling lost her ability to move.
"Let's go," Yu Tianheng whispered softly to the Royal Fighting Team.
Then, with a slightly stumbling gait, the seven of them slowly made their way towards the Soul Master entrance. Their defeat left them looking somewhat disheveled.
"Let's go, to greet those little monsters," Flender said with a smile. The Shrek teachers all nodded with smiles, and Shi Yi followed them out of the VIP room.
Soon, Shi Yi, along with the Shrek teachers, reunited with the Shrek team.
Yu Xiaogang looked at Tang San. At this moment, Shi Yi saw satisfaction in Yu Xiaogang's eyes.
Shi Yi did not say anything, quietly waiting for Yu Xiaogang to speak. Yu Xiaogang glanced at everyone and said, "Very good, you won. You not only defeated your opponents, but also defeated yourselves. Today's team battle is your first team battle this month. Even if it is the exam in the second stage of training, you have passed my test with excellent results."
After Yu Xiaogang finished speaking, he set his eyes on Shi Yi. Shi Yi also looked at Zhu Zhuqing and chuckled, "I hope that one day, your speed can control your own destiny."
Zhu Zhuqing looked at Shi Yi with a hint of unnaturalness in her eyes, then nodded seriously and said, "I will do my best."
Seeing this, Dai Mubai's face became extremely ugly. His evil eyes looked at Zhu Zhuqing with panic, and a trace of cold sweat appeared on his forehead. Zhu Zhuqing's performance made him see hope, but now Shi Yi's words seemed to imply that this was only Zhu Zhuqing's hope. Although he didn't want to admit it, the feeling of being like an isolated island in his heart clearly told him that he was panicked.
Dai Mubai now understood what he had to do. If he didn't, Zhu Zhuqing would only drift further and further away from him, leaving him alone in the end.
"What about me?" Ning Rongrong glared at Shi Yi. She naturally wanted Shi Yi to encourage her, or perhaps, more bluntly, to praise her.
Shi Yi smiled at Ning Rongrong's expression. He certainly understood the young lady's intentions and nodded slightly, saying, "Well, not bad. Keep it up during training." Ning Rongrong's pretty face brightened with a smile as she asked Shi Yi, "Can we go shopping later?"
Shi Yi nodded, "Of course."
Ma Hongjun chuckled at their conversation and looked at Flender. "Teacher, do you think I can have tonight off, too?"
Flender, standing by, sighed inwardly. Ma Hongjun was already the most lagging behind among the Shrek disciples. If he continued to cultivate this attitude, he would surely suffer in the future.
Although he wasn't Ma Hongjun's father, Ma Hongjun had been his teacher for so many years that Flender had long considered him his own child. Seeing Ma Hongjun's eagerness, he felt it was not right to disappoint his disciple at this opportune moment.
Flender looked at Ma Hongjun and whispered, "Only tonight."
Ma Hongjun nodded docilely.
Yu Xiaogang then slowly said, "I'll give you two weeks of vacation this time. You can do whatever you want. We'll consider the third phase of training later. Every one of you must participate, including Shi Yi."
Upon hearing this, the Shrek people looked at Yu Xiaogang in surprise. Yu Xiaogang's words intrigued them. What kind of training would even Shi Yi be participating in?
Shi Yi smiled slightly, but his heart wasn't entirely at peace. He knew what Yu Xiaogang was talking about, but as someone who grew up in peacetime, he was hesitant, even fearful, about such a thing. It was an unprecedented experience for him.
"Brother, can I study with you for a while during this fortnight?" Tang San asked.
Yu Xiaogang, as his teacher, remained silent, his gaze slowly shifting to Shi Yi.
Shi Yi smiled at Tang San and said, "Of course, Xiao San, I understand what you're thinking, but I have to be clear: it's unlikely you'll achieve the same results as Zhu Qing."
Hearing Shi Yi say this about her third brother, Xiao Wu glared at Shi Yi and was about to say something, but heard Tang San say with some confusion: "Why, Senior Brother."
"Xiao San, everyone has his own way to go. You have reached a very good level in those magical self-created soul skills, hand techniques, footwork, techniques, weapons, and eye skills. But there is one thing you are not as good as Zhu Qing. Even I can hardly compare with Zhu Qing in this regard, and that is concentration. Time is limited. Zhu Qing can devote everything he has to speed, but you can't." Shi Yi said softly.
After saying this, Shi Yi patted Tang San's shoulder and whispered, "As your senior, I know you well. While I don't know where these miraculous, self-created spirit abilities of yours come from, I do understand that they're far too mature. They're not something a single person could achieve, much less something a seven or eight-year-old could accomplish."
"Even if someone could achieve them at seven or eight, it wouldn't be you. You don't possess such creativity. You've only reached the path others have taken. What's more important now is to focus on forging your own path. You can borrow techniques from others, but the path can only be traversed by yourself."
Tang San froze, staring at Shi Yi with shock in his eyes. It felt as if Tang San was standing naked before Shi Yi.
"Senior, then what should I do?" Tang San asked, gazing deeply at Shi Yi.
Shi Yi smiled faintly, "What's best for you, what path to take, only you know."
A hint of confusion crossed Tang San's eyes. Becoming a hidden weapon master? Wasn't he already one now? He could even say he'd achieved that in his past life.
At this moment, a voice interrupted Tang San's thoughts, "Dean Flender, Vice-Dean Zhao Wuji. How are you? Disciple Qin Ming greets you."
Flender used his hand to support the square-framed glasses on the bridge of his nose, looked at the distance, and said unhappily, "I thought you, a bad boy, had forgotten about us a long time ago."
Zhao Wuji quickly came over and helped Qin Ming up from the ground. He looked Qin Ming up and down and laughed, "Good boy, you are getting more and more powerful. It seems that it won't be long before you will catch up with us old guys."
Qin Ming stood respectfully with his hands hanging down, "No matter what time, the two deans will always be Qin Ming's teachers, and Qin Ming will always be a disciple of Shrek Academy."
Flender nodded with satisfaction, looked at Shi Yi and said, "Okay, don't preach to me for now..."
"Come, let Qin Ming introduce you. This is the Master. You've probably seen these seven little monsters before. This is Shi Yi, our Shrek's specially appointed theory instructor."
Qin Ming looked at Shi Yi in surprise. He knew being a Shrek teacher was no mean feat, but this was his first time meeting one younger than himself. Without giving it a second thought, Qin Ming bowed to Yu Xiaogang.
Yu Xiaogang shifted aside, ignoring the greeting and saying calmly, "You're welcome."
Seeing Qin Ming's puzzled expression, Shi Yi chuckled and said, "Senior Qin, the captain of your Royal Fight is your teacher's nephew. You're welcome."
"What?"
Shi Yi's words instantly inflamed the crowd. No one at Shrek had ever imagined that the opponent they had just beaten was their teacher's nephew.
Yu Xiaogang's face darkened and he glared at Shi Yi. Shi Yi said nonchalantly, "Why are you glaring at me? You've got to go see your nephew soon, too."
Shi Yi, struck by Shi Yi's provocation, let out a cough, nodded at Qin Ming, and slowly departed.
Qin Ming watched Yu Xiaogang leave, then turned to Shi Yi, his expression still etched with doubt. "Why does Teacher Shi call me Senior?"
Shi Yi smiled and said, "I'm not worthy of that. I was originally a student at Shrek, and the dean and teachers were kind enough to let me teach them some theory."
Qin Ming's face was filled with surprise. Zhao Wuji remarked, "Qin Ming, this kid is no ordinary guy. Even we old hands don't have the same theoretical knowledge as him."
"Teacher Zhao, you're too kind," Shi Yi chuckled.
After a brief introduction and pleasantries, Flanders led the teachers and Qin Ming away.
Seeing the teachers leave, Ma Hongjun, unable to contain his desire, left alone. Oscar, observing the somewhat eerie atmosphere, said hello to Shi Yi and returned to the hotel.
Shi Yi was about to leave, but was stopped by Tang San: "Senior Brother..."
"Hmm?" Shi Yi looked at Tang San with a puzzled look.
Seeing Tang San's pensive expression, unsure what to say, Shi Yi chuckled and said, "Xiao San, everyone is always on their own path. You should think about how you would respond if you met an opponent like Zhu Qing, or perhaps learn from others' strengths to go further."
"Isn't learning from you also about learning from others' strengths?" Tang San asked, somewhat puzzled.
Shi Yi shook his head slightly and sighed, "Only when you understand what you want can you know how to learn. You want Zhu Qing's speed, theoretically, it's possible, but a person only has twelve hours in a day. Your martial spirit can't possibly match Zhu Qing's speed. This means the cost of increasing your speed is higher than Zhu Qing's. And those self-created spirit skills of yours will require daily practice, right?"
Tang San nodded awkwardly, unsure what to say.
"Alright, if you don't want to teach, then don't make so many excuses. We don't really want to learn. Xiao San, let's go!" Xiao Wu couldn't help herself and pulled Tang San away.
Tang San gave Shi Yi an apologetic look before being pulled away by Xiao Wu.
Shi Yi smiled and nodded. In a sense, Xiao Wu was right. He was reluctant to teach Tang San; it was a thankless task. He helped Zhu Zhuqing for peace of mind, and Ning Rongrong for resources.
As for helping Tang San? If Tang San had been willing to share the Tang Sect's unique skills with him back then, Shi Yi would have been willing to be the Tang Sect's senior brother. But things were different now.
With Shi Yi's basic attributes significantly improved, he lost interest in the Tang Sect's unique skills. Seeing Zhu Zhuqing's explosive speed today, this was even more evident. Without the Eight Spider Soul Bone and immortal items, Tang San, without his exceptional basic attributes to support him, could not see the Tang Sect's unique skills as powerful as he had imagined.
In Shi Yi's opinion, the most useful skills were the Mysterious Heavenly Art and the Purple Demon Eye.
If Shi Yi were to arrange Tang San's training, it would actually be quite simple. However, Tang San was dazzled by the so-called Tang Sect's unique skills. These skills all compensate for the shortcomings of hidden weapons.
Internal energy can increase the explosive power of hidden weapons, technique allows hidden weapons to have more angles to strike the opponent, vision allows hidden weapons to lock onto targets precisely, and footwork allows hidden weapon masters to increase their chances of firing.
Since Tang San chose Blue Silver Grass as a hidden weapon and possessed his second spirit, the Clear Sky Hammer, Tang San should continuously improve his spirit power, cultivate his strength, and then control this power through the practice of Chaos Cloak.
With strength and exquisite control, hidden weapons can be developed into visible weapons, overcoming these shortcomings. If one could unleash a powerful burst of force, launching an object beyond the opponent's ability to react, wouldn't that be the simplest form of a humanoid firearm?
When one reaches a deep level of cultivation, using one's mental power to lock onto an opponent, or even control a hidden weapon with mental power, would all those fancy techniques be necessary?
However, as a Tang Sect disciple, Tang San was destined to be confined to hidden weapons and the Tang Sect's unique skills. Wouldn't this mean that hidden weapons could become visible weapons? Wouldn't that mean digging out the very lifeblood that Tang San had been clinging to? How could the ancestral law be corrupted?
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