Tang San quickly asked, "Where is my father?"
Tai Tan shook his head.
"This old servant does not know where the Master is, but I believe he has been watching the Young Master's performance from the shadows."
"Perhaps he will appear before long. Perhaps after the preliminary rounds are over, or perhaps even later."
"Young Master, you must remember this: the Master has never abandoned you. There are simply certain reasons why he cannot reveal himself."
"Headmaster Flender was right about one thing. Even if you've lost two matches, your chances of advancing remain unaffected."
"Whether it's for your own sake or for the Master's, I hope you'll take the remaining matches seriously and secure your place in the next stage of the tournament."
After Tai Tan's encouragement, Tang San felt much calmer.
Thinking it over carefully, he realized that he couldn't let a single defeat ruin such a favorable qualification position.
Today's match against the Godwind and Blazing Team had already been forfeited, so there was nothing more to say about it. As long as they performed well in the remaining matches and earned every point they could, even if they later lost to Skywater Academy and Thunder Academy, they would still have an excellent chance of advancing.
If they could defeat either Skywater Academy or Thunder Academy, qualification would be guaranteed.
"But Senior Tai Tan," Tang San said, "I truly don't know how to encourage everyone. If I could cultivate my Clear Sky Hammer Spirit, I'm confident..."
Tai Tan interrupted him once again.
"Young Master, cultivating Twin Martial Spirits isn't so simple. Even if the Master isn't here, shouldn't you at least ask your teacher first?"
Although he looked down on Grandmaster as a person, he acknowledged the man's knowledge.
Tang San went to find Grandmaster, while Tai Tan headed to the Shrek Seven Devils' lounge to encourage them as an elder.
The moment Grandmaster heard Tang San mention cultivating both Martial Spirits, a thin layer of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
"Xiao San are you serious?"
"Do you remember what I told you? The first Twin Spirit Master in nearly a hundred years cultivated both Martial Spirits simultaneously. In the end, the Spirit Power from the two Martial Spirits conflicted within his body, causing him to explode and die. Do you want to follow the same path?"
There had been successful Twin Martial Spirit Masters before.
His former lover, Bibi Dong, was living proof.
Only after attaching multiple Spirit Rings to her first Martial Spirit had Bibi Dong begun adding Spirit Rings to her second Martial Spirit.
That was precisely why Grandmaster had instructed Tang San to wait until reaching Level 70 before even considering attaching Spirit Rings to the Clear Sky Hammer.
Unfortunately, he had left Spirit Hall too early and had never learned the proper cultivation method for Twin Martial Spirits from Bibi Dong.
If Tang San tried to cultivate both Martial Spirits now, Grandmaster had absolutely no confidence in the outcome.
Tang San refused to give up.
"But, Teacher, you've seen how powerful the Seven Treasure Team is. If I can't cultivate the Clear Sky Hammer, how am I supposed to win future matches?"
Grandmaster fully acknowledged the overwhelming power of the Clear Sky Hammer.
However, did he dare go against Tang Hao's wishes?
His answer was nearly identical to Tai Tan's.
"Xiao San, this is an extremely important matter. I need your father's approval first."
"Let's finish the preliminary rounds before discussing anything else."
As he spoke, he gently patted Tang San's shoulder.
"I know yesterday's defeat dealt all of you a heavy blow, but you can't throw away such a favorable qualification position because of it. At the very least, you won't face the Seven Treasure Team again during the preliminary rounds."
"We'll discuss everything else afterward."
Tang San nodded and said nothing more.
It was true.
Finishing the preliminary rounds was the priority.
Besides, once the tournament stage ended, he would have an entire month to rest before deciding whether to begin cultivating the Clear Sky Hammer Martial Spirit.
When master and disciple returned to the lounge, Tai Tan had already succeeded in encouraging everyone.
The Shrek Seven Devils' morale was still low, but at least they had regained the courage to continue fighting.
Seeing this, Tang San chose not to dwell on yesterday's defeat and instead turned everyone's attention toward the future.
"Tomorrow we'll be facing Canghui Academy. Everyone, get yourselves ready."
"Don't forget how they humiliated us during the opening ceremony."
At a time like this, redirecting everyone's anger was undoubtedly the best approach.
As expected, the Shrek team quickly became fired up again.
The gloom that had hung over them disappeared, replaced by renewed confidence in the upcoming matches.
Over the past few days, Shi Nian had not been idle.
Originally, he had intended to find an opportunity to target the members of the Seven Treasure Team. However, after noticing that experts from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan were secretly protecting them, he abandoned that idea. As a result, Canghui Academy simply forfeited its match against the Seven Treasure Team.
There was more than one qualification spot available in the Heaven Dou Empire preliminary division. Just because he wouldn't make a move against the Seven Treasure Team didn't mean he wouldn't target other teams.
The Godwind and Blazing Team and Skywater Academy both had powerful families backing them, and both also had ties to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.
The Elephant Armored Team and Thunder Academy were also formidable, with major sects supporting them. Even so, Shi Nian was confident that Canghui Academy could easily deal with the straightforward Elephant Armored Team and the reorganized Godwind and Blazing Team.
The next day would be Shrek Academy's match against Canghui Academy.
To ensure victory, Tang San went to the arena to scout Canghui Academy's strength.
Since he went alone, it was only natural that Shi Nian set his sights on him.
Although Shrek Academy had suffered two consecutive defeats, many people still believed they would successfully advance from the preliminary rounds.
Since the previously mentioned teams were untouchable, Shi Nian decided to focus on Shrek Academy, the fifth team most likely to qualify.
Without the benefit of the Wangchuan Autumn Water Dew, Tang San's Purple Demon Eye had never advanced to a higher level.
Although the Purple Demon Eye was said to pierce all illusions, it was completely ineffective against the spiritual attacks of a Spirit Sage.
Under Shi Nian's guidance, Tang San noticed nothing unusual and unknowingly walked straight out of Heaven Dou City.
Hidden in the shadows, with Dugu Bo concealing their presence, Wu Qi and Dugu Bo watched everything unfold without being discovered.
"Kid, since you have a grudge against Tang San, why not let Shi Nian kill him for you?" Dugu Bo said expressionlessly.
After his previous clash with Tang Hao, he had already seen the true nature of both father and son.
Although Tang San's talent was inferior to Wu Qi's, if he were allowed to continue growing, he would undoubtedly become a serious threat in the future.
Wu Qi, however, shook his head.
'Killing Tang San would certainly be satisfying. But since he was able to reincarnate into the Douluo Continent once, who's to say he couldn't reincarnate again?'
'At least right now, Tang San is out in the open. If he were to reincarnate again and hide himself in the shadows, we'd end up with the enemy hidden while we remained exposed.'
'So why create that situation ourselves?'
He smiled faintly before continuing.
"If Shi Nian kills Tang San, and then we kill Shi Nian afterward, don't you think Tang Hao would blame us?"
"When someone loses their mind, they're capable of anything. We can't hand the initiative over to him."
"Besides, even if Tang San eventually reaches the level of a Titled Douluo or even a Super Douluo do you really think I wouldn't be able to deal with him?"
Looking at Wu Qi's confident expression, Dugu Bo let out a quiet sigh, unable to deny that he had a point.
"Fine. We'll do it your way. Whatever brings the greatest benefit is for the best. But that Spirit Bone is mine."
Wu Qi gestured for patience.
"Let's follow them slowly. If we make our move inside the city, we'll only create trouble for ourselves."
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