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Moreover, besides Spirit Beasts, in the upcoming competitions, his Soul Devouring Eight Spider Lances can also seize opportunities to devour some of his opponents' Life, and as long as it's a small amount, it won't be a big deal.
Tang San looked down at the red patterns on the Blue Silver Grass, "As for the red patterns from the Martial Spirit's evolution and mutation, we'll just say they're an effect brought about by the fourth spirit ring."
The night passed without a word.
The next day, Tang San and the others' opponents were ordinary academies again.
Everything proceeded as usual; under Tang San's leadership, the group easily achieved victory.
During the battle, Tang San again used the Soul Devouring Eight Spider Lances to devour part of the Life from three of the opponents. To prevent outsiders from noticing anything amiss, Tang San absorbed a very small amount, which would at most only cause temporary weakness.
Heaven Dou Royal Academy, back mountain.
"Tang San actually broke through to Spirit Ancestor so quickly?" Shi Quan raised an eyebrow, looking at the news he received.
"And he defeated the Elephant Armor Team by himself? His fourth Spirit Ability can make Blue Silver Grass erupt with powerful devouring capabilities, allowing Blue Silver Grass to absorb the opponent's spirit power to replenish his own consumption?"
Shi Quan's mouth curved into an intrigued smile, "It seems Tang San's fourth spirit ring should be a devouring-type spirit ring. I wonder if it's a plant-type spirit ring or an animal-type spirit ring?"
According to the news from Xue Xing's side, Tang San left the day after being defeated by Skywater Academy. Reliable sources claim that Tang San broke through his Bottleneck due to the Spirit Fusion Skill of the Skywater Battle Team, and the Spirit Bone absorbing too much energy, with the energy infusion causing the Breakthrough.
"That simple? Such a fast increase in strength probably isn't that simple."
Shi Quan looked at the report thoughtfully, "Tang San might be secretly devouring spirit power to directly increase his strength. If we find evidence, then Tang San can be labeled a Fallen Soul Master, and then there will naturally be plenty of people to deal with him."
"Grandpa Dugu, I feel that Tang San's rate of strength improvement is somewhat problematic. Could you ask His Highness the Prince to pay more attention to Tang San? It would be best if we had the detailed process of each battle."
"No problem," Dugu Bo nodded and continued to ask, "But why do you think this kid's strength improvement speed is problematic? He consumed the Immortal Herb you left for him, so isn't it normal for his strength to improve quickly?"
"The Immortal Herb I left, Grandpa Dugu, was specially and carefully selected. Its boost to him absolutely couldn't be this high. I also understand his strength very well; he would need at least several more months of Cultivation to Breakthrough to Spirit Ancestor."
"Then what do you suspect?" Dugu Bo looked at Shi Quan curiously.
Shi Quan shook his head, "It's hard to say. We'll only know after the specific investigation results come out..."
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, half a month had passed.
With the conclusion of the final match, the preliminary rounds of the All-Continent Advanced Spirit Master Elite Tournament came to an end.
According to the process, after the preliminary rounds, there would be an awards ceremony to present the qualification certificates for the promotion rounds to the top five teams, with all procedures taking place at the Great Spirit Arena.
The process was simple.
The qualifying teams were the same as in the original work: Godwind Academy, Thunder Academy, Skywater Academy, Blazing Academy, and Heaven Dou Royal Academy's second team, the Shrek Team.
As for the so-called qualification certificate for the promotion rounds, it was just a simple letter. There was no fear of this being faked, after all, Spirit Hall and the Heaven Dou Empire were very clear about which academies had qualified.
This was just a formality.
Then, Emperor Xue Ye would announce some rewards and the arrangements for the subsequent matches.
To allow the qualified teams to perform better in the upcoming promotion rounds, there was a one-month rest period between the preliminary rounds and the promotion rounds.
Over at the Shrek Team.
Yu Xiaogang had just finished arranging a month-long Cultivation plan for everyone.
Tang San then privately sought out Yu Xiaogang and said, "Teacher, there's something I'd like to ask for your opinion on."
"Speak," Yu Xiaogang nodded slightly.
"Teacher, it's like this," Tang San said with a serious expression, "After absorbing my fourth spirit ring in Sunset Forest, didn't I use the Soul Devouring Eight Spider Lances and my Martial Spirit to absorb the Devouring Boa's corpse? After returning, I found that both my Soul Devouring Eight Spider Lances and my Blue Silver Grass seem to have undergone some evolution."
"Evolution?" Yu Xiaogang's expression changed upon hearing this, and he looked at Tang San in surprise.
"That's right," Tang San nodded, "The strength and devouring ability of the Soul Devouring Eight Spider Lances have improved, and even the toughness of my Blue Silver Grass has increased."
Yu Xiaogang thought of something, his expression slightly serious, and he asked, "Xiao San, when you used the Soul Devouring Eight Spider Lances to devour the energy within the Devouring Boa, did you integrate them into your own body?"
Tang San's expression remained unchanged as he answered without hesitation, "No, after all, it's external energy, and I was worried it might have a negative impact on my body. So, I stored all that energy within my Spirit Bone, and any energy absorbed during combat, I consumed it immediately."
He said that, but would Tang San truly be unclear about whether the devoured energy had any effect on him?
Based on his previous attempts, the energy filtered by the Soul Devouring Eight Spider Lances was extremely pure and would not cause him any harm.
"Xiao San, that's the right thing to do." Yu Xiaogang showed a look of relief and said solemnly, "Xiao San, you must remember, devouring abilities must never be used to aid Cultivation, and the devoured energy must not remain in your body for too long, otherwise it could have an impact on your body."
Yu Xiaogang naturally did not wish for the Disciple he had painstakingly nurtured to become a Fallen Soul Master, reviled by all.
If it weren't for Shi Quan's earlier statement that the Blue Silver Grass couldn't bear so many toxins, he would absolutely not have allowed Tang San to add a devouring-attribute spirit ring.
However, Yu Xiaogang thought about it and still had great confidence in Tang San. Although he could sometimes be emotional, his Mind had always been mature and stable.
Just with his talent and twin spirits, as long as he Cultivated step by step, his future achievements would surely be Titled Douluo or even higher. He shouldn't be foolish enough to take this so-called shortcut.
"Disciple understands." Tang San nodded solemnly, "Cultivation emphasizes taking one step at a time, with no shortcuts whatsoever. External things are ultimately ephemeral; over-reliance on them is harmful and not beneficial, damaging one's Foundation and affecting one's Mind."
"With a flawed Mind, one's achievements are naturally limited. How could this simple truth be unknown to this Disciple?"
He said that, but in Tang San's eyes, it depended on the person.
Having lived two lives, his Mind was already far beyond that of ordinary people, and his will was as firm as a rock. How could he be affected by external things?
Moreover, in his Worldview.
The same power, if used by someone with a Righteous Path in their Heart, would naturally be used to uphold the Righteous Path. If used by someone with malicious intentions, it would naturally bring disaster for ten thousand years.
Power itself has no right or wrong; the key lies in the person using it.
As someone from the Tang Sect, how could he not know this point?
In the Jianghu, poison or Hidden Weapons, in the eyes of so-called Righteous Path individuals, are merely despicable methods. But what is the truth?
Do so-called Righteous Path individuals commit fewer evil deeds by relying on their own power?
Within their Tang Sect, although they walk a minor Dao and operate in the darkness, they are still chivalrous individuals, and they have done quite a few deeds of punishing evil and promoting good.
"That's the principle." Yu Xiaogang nodded in satisfaction and continued, "Since you understand the stakes, I can rest assured. I also understand your intention. I'll go find Flender in a bit and tell him to take you to Sunset Forest to hunt a devouring-attribute Spirit Beast for you to absorb. The competition ended today, and teams from various academies are leaving one after another. Heaven Dou City is a mixed bag of people, so it's a good opportunity for you to leave Heaven Dou City."
"As for your original Cultivation plan, it will be temporarily put on hold. I will also explain to the team, so you can go with peace of mind."
Yu Xiaogang was also quite envious of the rewards from the competition, especially that Wisdom Spirit Bone, which was undoubtedly very suitable for Tang San. If Tang San's Martial Spirit could evolve, then the chances of winning the championship later would greatly increase.
Moreover, if Tang San won the championship, Yu Xiaogang's reputation would resound throughout the Spirit Master's world, which was also his wish.
As for hunting Spirit Beasts, special circumstances naturally call for special treatment.
Although he had previously taught that one should not casually hunt Spirit Beasts, the status of devouring-attribute Spirit Beasts among Spirit Beasts was actually equivalent to that of Fallen Soul Masters among humans.
Most devouring-attribute Spirit Beasts are exceptionally fierce. Besides hunting human Spirit Masters, these types of Spirit Beasts are mostly enemies of the Spirit Beast's World.
If Tang San went to help hunt them, in a way, he would actually be helping the Spirit Beasts.
If he hunted one more devouring-attribute Spirit Beast, dozens of ordinary Spirit Beasts might be saved.
Thinking this way, Tang San's actions were actually benevolent!
If Shi Quan knew Yu Xiaogang's thoughts, he would surely give him a big thumbs up.
Indeed, birds of a feather flock together.
Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
"Shi Quan, from the messages that have come in, Tang San doesn't seem to have anything unusual about him." Dugu Bo looked at the information in his hand, not seeing anything out of the ordinary.
Shi Quan's attention was focused on Tang San's first match after his Breakthrough, which was the match between the Shrek Team and the Elephant Armor Team.
Because after the Elephant Armor Team fought the Shrek Team, the Elephant Armor Team consecutively lost two more matches. One of them was to another elemental academy, which was understandable, but the other was to an ordinary academy. The root cause was a mistake by the Elephant Armor Team captain, which led to the collapse of their team's defensive formation.
It was mentioned in the original work that Hu Yanli possessed a head Spirit Bone, and his defensive power was strong enough to withstand an assault from Tang San and his companions. In terms of strength, he was definitely not weak.
Moreover, as a team leader, such a mistake should absolutely not have occurred. It is very likely that Hu Yanli's body had some problem that led to his mistake, but this problem was not severe, causing the people of the Elephant Armored Academy to mistakenly believe it was due to injuries from consecutive defeats.
Of course, this is just a speculation based on current information; the specific situation still needs further investigation. However, from Shi Quan's speculation, it is highly probable that it is related to Tang San's devouring ability.
Although there was no evidence, Shi Quan still trusted his intuition. After all, the Spirit Devouring Flower, the Immortal Herb Tang San consumed, was known for its evil and malevolent nature. Since Tang San chose this Immortal Herb, it was enough to prove that in Tang San's Mind, the boundary between good and evil was determined by him, and often, the more confident one is, the easier it is to unknowingly fall.