Chapter 66: Yu Xiaogang Has Arrived
For Yang Xiong, he honestly wasn't that interested in mechanical hidden weapons.
Ever since coming to the Douluo Continent, Yang Xiong had always focused on cultivating himself and growing stronger on his own. He had never considered developing in the direction of hidden weapons—or weapons in general.
One had to understand that this world had soul tools. Far across the seas, soul tools were the true lethal weapons. If hidden weapons were products of a wuxia world, then soul tools were more like products of a xianxia world. The two weren't even on the same level.
If Yang Xiong really wanted to study weapons, he would have gone for firearms long ago. Given the technological level of the Douluo world, researching machine guns and cannons wouldn't be difficult. Compared to hidden weapons, firearms and soul tools could completely crush them in terms of level.
In the world of soul masters, spirit power and martial spirits were the foundation. Yang Xiong didn't want to waste too much energy elsewhere. Even his research on herbs was just a surface-level dabble—he never seriously considered becoming an alchemist, only wanted to familiarize himself with the knowledge of various immortal herbs.
After returning to the Soul Hunting Town, everyone rested well for a few days. After all, this trip to the Star Dou Great Forest had been extremely dangerous, but also immensely rewarding.
Among the eight Shrek students, three obtained satisfactory spirit rings and became Soul Elders. Tang San, in particular, even gained an attached external spirit bone.
Under Zhao Wuji's instructions, the matter of Tang San possessing an attached external spirit bone absolutely could not be spread. Having roamed the soul master world for many years, he understood very well the value of such a bone. Even if Tang San had powerful backing, it could still bring a storm of bloodshed upon him.
This time, after absorbing the spirit ring from the Gale Mantis, Tang San's spirit power had risen to level 31. Xiao Wu and Oscar had also reached level 31.
Xiao Wu's third spirit skill was also teleportation, which puzzled Yang Xiong. Normally, a Soft Bone Rabbit wouldn't have such a skill—it even had a spatial attribute to it.
Tang San was very satisfied with his third spirit skill, called Blue Silver Gale Array. After using the Blue Silver Grass's third skill, all the blades of the grass would become like the forelegs of the Gale Mantis, possessing fierce attack and cutting power. With this skill, the Blue Silver Grass's offensive ability increased greatly—it was no longer limited to just binding or restraining enemies.
Compared to Tang San and the others, Yang Xiong was actually a little troubled at this moment.
He was hiding a 2,300-year-old Human-Faced Demon Spider within him, but he was conflicted about what to do with it.
Given his current spirit power level, he still couldn't absorb a third spirit ring. Moreover, with the Human-Faced Demon Spider's poisonous attribute, it wasn't very suitable for him.
Lately, Yang Xiong felt his attack power was lacking. For his third spirit ring, he wanted to choose one with either a fire or metal attribute—this way, both his attack power and burst potential could reach a higher level.
Ever since creating the Rasengan, he had been thinking about how to inject elemental attribute energy into it. Only then would the Rasengan's secondary development be complete, and only then would it have truly terrifying power.
Furthermore, both his first spirit ring's spatial attribute and his second spirit ring's wood attribute were still relatively weak—after all, they were only century-level rings.
Especially the first spirit ring—though he had developed teleportation from it, spatial attributes were among the most mysterious of all attributes. It wasn't something someone at his level could truly master.
As for the wood attribute, although Yang Xiong could inject it into the Rasengan, it didn't seem to increase destructive power—probably due to the nature of wood itself.
Through his research over time, Yang Xiong discovered that after absorbing a spirit ring, one wouldn't inherit all of the spirit beast's attributes. Only the attributes tied to the ring and skill were obtained.
For example, after absorbing the first ring from the Black Tortoise, the beast itself had both water and earth attributes, and secretly even a spatial attribute. But because the manifested spirit skill had spatial properties, the ring's energy also contained only spatial properties—there was no water or earth attribute at all.
Strength attributes, on the other hand, were vague—they didn't fully manifest as a separate property, but more like an enhancement to vitality and physique. After absorbing two strength-type rings, his body, strength, and even the power of his fists and kicks had all increased greatly.
Yang Xiong couldn't help but think of the Strength Clan, who pursued pure strength-type rings. But from another perspective, most strength-type beasts also had strong earth attributes—like the Titan Giant Ape and the Myriad Jun Ant, the two prime representatives of strength-type spirit beasts. Their main properties were earth, while strength seemed more like a representation of sheer power or life force.
Especially in all the attributes of the Douluo world, there seemed to be no direct "strength" attribute—it was vaguely described at best.
There were also a few questions regarding the Human-Faced Demon Spider. According to the history of the soul master world, attached external spirit bones were usually obtained during the spirit ring absorption process—there were no cases of absorbing a spirit bone separately. And during spirit ring absorption, there was no direct physical contact between soul master and spirit beast—it was more like the ring's energy flowing into the body and transforming it.
Naturally, Yang Xiong very much wanted the Eight Spider Lances. For a soul master, they were like a cheat—especially since he had a body martial spirit. If he could also gain devouring abilities, the Eight Spider Lances would become like eight weapons. Combined with his split-focus control, he could easily suppress enemies while reducing damage to himself.
But now, he already had the Black Tortoise Shell attached external spirit bone, whose main structure was also located at the spine. Could he even absorb a second spine-based attached external bone?
Yang Xiong didn't want to waste a spirit ring slot, much less waste this priceless spirit bone. From his perspective, the Human-Faced Demon Spider's ring was not very impressive—its years and attributes were lacking.
…
Since entering the Soul Hunting Town, Lin Gong had vanished completely—likely switching to secretly protecting him.
After resting for two days, the group returned to Shrek Academy. On the way, Xiao Wu seemed worried no matter how much Tang San tried to comfort her.
At the moment, Shrek Academy was a scene of bustling construction. Next to the original male and female dorms, a new building was going up at an astonishing pace—it would probably be done in just a few days.
Before entering the Sunset Forest, Yang Xiong had removed his training weights. After returning to school, he put them back on again.
Just as Yang Xiong expected, Ning Rongrong had already approached Tang San privately—mainly to discuss purchasing hidden weapons. Tang San agreed to first make a set, but the actual deal would have to be discussed later with the true decision-makers of her clan.
When Zhao Wuji discussed everything that had happened in the Star Dou Great Forest with Flender, there was another middle-aged man present besides Flender.
After listening, the man finally spoke: "That bull's roar you heard should have come from the legendary Sky Azure Bull Python—that's the emperor of the forest in legend. As for Tang San and Xiao Wu's safety, I suspect Tang San's father was the one who stepped in."
Zhao Wuji looked surprised. "So that was Tang San's father… but how could Tang San's martial spirit be Blue Silver Grass? Still, only someone like that could have saved Xiao Wu. Otherwise, Lin Gong wouldn't have been told not to intervene—probably fearing he'd hurt Xiao Wu in a fight with the Titan Giant Ape."
The man smiled. "Tang San's martial spirit isn't just simple Blue Silver Grass—he's a twin martial spirit wielder. His other spirit is one of the strongest in the world."
Flender thought for a while before speaking seriously: "It seems next time the kids go to hunt spirit rings, I'll have to go personally. Maybe even all the teachers together—it's the only way to be sure it's safe."
…
The next morning, everyone was pleasantly surprised when they came to the cafeteria. The food had greatly improved—besides the usual vegetarian dishes, there was now plenty of meat.
Yang Xiong could only feel a bit helpless. The person he was most worried about had indeed arrived—hopefully, he wouldn't interfere with his cultivation.
Sure enough, during class in the morning, a middle-aged man appeared alongside Flender.
The man looked a bit thin, even slightly melancholy and decadent, but with his hands behind his back, he carried a touch of arrogance—like a leader inspecting subordinates.
Flender introduced first: "This is my good friend Yu Xiaogang. He's very knowledgeable about martial spirits and cultivation. From now on, he'll be responsible for guiding your training. You can call him Master."
Yu Xiaogang nodded slightly, his expression still cold. "From today on, I expect you to get up early. Breakfast will provide you with enough nutrition to sustain a whole day of training—but if you can't even get up early, don't bother eating."
"I've already read through all your information. You may all be geniuses, but that's far from enough. Next, you'll undergo brutal training to build a solid foundation and truly become strong in the future."
The students seemed intimidated by his words. Yang Xiong, however, was rather speechless—it all sounded a bit odd to him.
Yu Xiaogang continued: "Today's the first lesson. Besides the data I have, I also want to test everyone's combat ability."
"Dai Mubai, step forward. Today, your task is to defeat all of them, one by one."
Dai Mubai's face darkened—he didn't know whether to step out. He glanced at Yang Xiong and Tang San, knowing both were no weaker than him.
Yu Xiaogang frowned slightly. "You're level 37—they're at most level 31, and four of them are only Spirit Masters. You can't handle that?"
Dai Mubai then resolutely stepped forward.
Yu Xiaogang said: "Tang San, you go first. You're not allowed to use your third spirit skill or any hidden weapons."
Soon, Dai Mubai and Tang San were fighting. Though Dai Mubai was strong, after a fierce exchange he was defeated by Tang San, who even forced himself to use his third spirit skill and several Tang Sect techniques in the process.
Yu Xiaogang then said: "Remember this—among soul masters of the same level, control-type masters are the strongest. Their attack power may not be overwhelming, but they can effectively restrict the enemy—especially below level 60, where control types can dominate others at the same rank."
Everyone seemed a bit provoked by his words. Yang Xiong, however, muttered inwardly—while Yu Xiaogang's words weren't wrong, he seemed to forget that there wasn't a single control-type Title Douluo on the continent. And if Tang San didn't use Tang Sect skills, how could Blue Silver Grass alone defeat Dai Mubai?
Yu Xiaogang glanced at everyone, then looked at Yang Xiong. "Tang San's use of his third spirit skill violated my earlier rule, so he'll help you by taking one opponent."
"Yang Xiong, although you're only level 26, I've heard you're powerful. You'll fight Tang San—but Tang San is still forbidden to use his third spirit skill."
"Dai Mubai will then face Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong as one group, and Ma Hongjun and Oscar as another. As a high-level Soul Elder, defeating two Spirit Master-level opponents should be no problem for you."
Yang Xiong stepped forward. "Sorry, but I'm already level 27. And as for fighting Tang San, there's no need to restrict his third spirit skill—otherwise, it'll be too boring."
Yu Xiaogang was startled. He had thought Yang Xiong was the weakest of the group, given his innate spirit power was only level 6 and his martial spirit was considered useless. Yet, at only twelve years old, he had reached level 27—his spirit power was no worse than anyone else's.
He seemed to sense the casual confidence in Yang Xiong's eyes, and finally nodded. "Very well—Tang San doesn't need to be restricted from using his third spirit skill."
(END CHAPTER)
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