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Calling himself a Spirit Ancestor—Su Wen's conscience was certainly flexible enough to handle that.
He had become a Spirit King a year ago, and now, with nearly a year having passed, he was almost at the point of considering his Spirit Emperor status. Yet, he was actually going to pretend to be a mere Spirit Ancestor.
"I wonder what kind of expressions the Captain and Yufeng will have when they find out."
Su Wen imagined the scene; there would definitely be a pile of dropped jaws.
Currently, within the Heaven Dou Imperial Team, aside from Dugu Yan—and perhaps Qin Ming, who knew Su Wen had gone out to hunt for a ring last time—everyone else assumed the ring Su Wen had obtained was his fourth.
Heaven Dou Imperial Academy.
"Teacher Qin Ming, how about Rongrong and I transfer to the second team?"
Although injuries are inevitable during a tournament and it's standard practice for every team to have substitutes, the situation with the Heaven Dou Imperial Team was different. Keeping two Spirit Ancestors like Su Wen and Ning Rongrong as substitutes was simply unjustifiable.
But if they were made regular members of the main team, it would be difficult to explain things to Yufeng and the others who had worked so hard.
Since Su Wen was now suggesting that he and Ning Rongrong be moved to the second team...
Qin Ming frowned, looking at Su Wen, and said, "Xiao Wen, although you and Rongrong are now Spirit Ancestors, the second team doesn't exactly have 'good' teammates."
Though they were also a team participating in the Spirit Master Tournament, and the members were at least more serious than other students at the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, that seriousness was limited.
Not only were they all merely Spirit Grandmasters, but they couldn't even be called the best among their peers; their combat power was just "alright," and their spirit ring configurations were simply the standard optimal sets.
Furthermore, they lacked seamless cooperation.
If Su Wen and Ning Rongrong were suddenly transferred there, their already shaky coordination would likely collapse entirely.
But recalling Su Wen and Ning Rongrong's past combat records, Qin Ming felt it was actually acceptable.
Even in a team battle, the two of them were enough to fight a seven-on-two.
Unless they were forced to fight twelve against two...
"Alright, I will report this to the three education committee members and transfer you to the Heaven Dou Second Team." Qin Ming nodded, seemingly thinking about how to arrange the subsequent steps.
The next day.
Qin Ming relayed the decision from the committee.
"The three committee members have no objections to your request," Qin Ming said. "Additionally, I made another application to them: that the second team be given the direct seed spot for the finals, while the main Heaven Dou Imperial Team will fight their way up through every single match."
Su Wen hadn't expected Qin Ming to make such a decision.
However, he quickly understood Qin Ming's intentions.
"Right now, Tianheng and Yanzi have both broken through to the Spirit Ancestor level, and Shimo is already at rank forty. I will help him obtain his spirit ring before the tournament. Originally, I wanted to wait for Shimo; he's been stuck at rank thirty-nine for a long time. Yufeng and Osler also broke through to rank thirty-nine two months ago. If they can fight their way through the qualifiers, they have a chance to use the pressure of the tournament to break through their bottlenecks and reach rank forty."
Understanding Qin Ming's logic, Su Wen nodded in agreement with the arrangement.
"Moreover, given the state of the second team, making it to the finals would likely depend entirely on you and Rongrong carrying them. You would consume too much energy before the finals even begin, so it's better to just have you seeded directly."
Su Wen gladly accepted Qin Ming's arrangement.
He wasn't the type of spirit master who needed to find his "feel" through combat, and the early matches wouldn't provide much of a tempering effect for him anyway.
However, since the main team had to fight their way up, they would need replacements for potential exhaustion. Thus, the original Captain and Vice-Captain of the second team—both Spirit Grandmasters—were transferred to the main team as substitutes.
After settling the tournament matters, Su Wen left the academy again and headed to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.
"Uncle Ning, is there an issue with Rongrong's fourth ring?"
Ning Fengzhi looked at Su Wen, appearing somewhat conflicted. "Xiao Wen, do you think Rongrong should attempt a ten-thousand-year spirit ring for her fourth?"
According to his original plan, it was safer to absorb a ring around nine thousand years.
The martial soul had already evolved, after all. In Ning Fengzhi's eyes, Ning Rongrong's safety during cultivation was now the primary concern.
However, Ning Rongrong was insistent on attempting a ten-thousand-year fourth ring.
"Soul Shudder is no joke. Xiao Wen, you could attempt it because your mental strength is powerful, but Rongrong's mental strength..."
Although they had initially attributed Su Wen's success in absorbing a thousand-year second ring to his mental strength—which led to Ning Rongrong never neglecting her mental cultivation—her progress was limited.
Ultimately, with only the "Distraction Control" method to train her mind, Ning Rongrong's mental strength was still far from the level required to cope with the Soul Shudder brought by a ten-thousand-year spirit ring.
"Uncle Ning, let Rongrong absorb a ten-thousand-year ring. I can handle the Soul Shudder issue," Su Wen said.
"How will you handle it?" It wasn't that Ning Fengzhi didn't trust Su Wen, but since it involved Ning Rongrong's safety, he had to be cautious.
"Uncle Ning, have you forgotten what spirit beast my fifth spirit ring came from?"
The Void Silver Moon Tapir?
Ning Fengzhi's eyes flashed; he clearly understood Su Wen's implied method for helping Ning Rongrong face the Soul Shudder.
"In that case, Rongrong is probably going to have an even harder time..." Ning Fengzhi sighed inwardly.
He still remembered Ning Rongrong's attitude two days ago when he tried to persuade her to take a sub-ten-thousand-year ring.
She said she had already fallen too far behind Su Wen and didn't want to be a burden, so every step she took had to surpass conventional spirit masters if she ever hoped to be of help to him.
"Papa, is Brother Xiao Wen here?" Outside the hall, Ning Rongrong's voice rang out.
She entered the hall, her eyes lighting up the moment she saw Su Wen.
Brother Xiao Wen is exceptionally dazzling today. This was Ning Rongrong's first thought.
Then, after she rushed forward and hung herself onto Su Wen, that feeling became even more intense.
"Rongrong! What kind of behavior is this for a young lady!" Bone Douluo looked stern, speaking in a heavy voice.
He couldn't watch this anymore.
Ning Fengzhi's face was also turning dark.
Ning Rongrong stuck out her tongue and climbed down from Su Wen, her eyes filled with a strange wonder as she looked him over.
"Brother Xiao Wen, why do I feel like you're different from before?"
Su Wen also felt a strange pull of attraction.
His gaze was startled as he looked at Ning Rongrong, digging through the data in his mind for an explanation.
"Rongrong, this situation between us... it should be the precursor to a Martial Soul Fusion Skill."
"Martial Soul Fusion Skill!" Ning Fengzhi and the two Titled Douluo exclaimed in unison.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Tower had never had a fusion skill with any other martial soul.
And Ning Rongrong's soul had even evolved into the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Tower. To think a fusion skill would appear now?
"Why wasn't it there before?" Ning Fengzhi frowned, puzzled by this phenomenon.
Su Wen offered a slightly hesitant guess: "Perhaps our acquired compatibility has continuously improved, making a Martial Soul Fusion Skill possible?"
He actually had some deeper insights.
The success of his first ring replacement had successfully granted him the Star attribute, and the fact that his third ring—the Stone Monster ring—had reached the twenty-thousand-year level meant it also carried a trace of the "Precious Aura" attribute.
(End of Chapter)