Soul Master Tournament Begins

After Tang San returned, he told Yu Xiaogang everything he had discussed with Manager Ao.

Yu Xiaogang furrowed his brows, seeming to have thought of something.

"Teacher, what is it?"

"Those people most likely came from Skywater Academy."

"Skywater Academy?"

"Yes. Skywater Academy is located in Skywater City. It is an old-established academy that follows a pure water path. Ice and water share the same origin, and they only admit female students with ice or water attributes."

Tang San thought for a moment, a bad feeling rising in his heart.

"It is very likely them. It would not be difficult to trace their information through their spirit souls."

Yu Xiaogang sighed.

"If it really is them, then we have gained another formidable rival on our road to the championship. But why would they admit male students? His Second Soul Ring had already reached the thousand-year level, exceeding the limit his body should have been able to withstand. I truly do not know how that young man managed it. Could my theory be wrong?"

"Teacher, do not overthink it. We have only one goal—the Soul Master Tournament championship. It does not matter who our opponents are."

Tang San wore a confident smile, but inwardly, he was panicking badly.

He considered himself quite powerful.

But there was always a higher mountain, always someone stronger.

That mysterious young man was undoubtedly stronger than him. If he truly was from Skywater Academy, Tang San could not afford to take him lightly.

After that, the Shrek Seven Devils defeated the Imperial Fighting Team, and Tang San felt capable again.

After leaving Suotuo City and returning to Shrek Academy, Yu Xiaogang made inquiries and confirmed that the few people who had achieved such remarkable results at the Suotuo Great Soul Fighting Arena were indeed from Skywater Academy.

Yu Xiaogang found Tang San and told him about it.

"Innate Full Soul Power... The Ice Bow and Ice Arrow combined into the True Ice Bow and Arrow spirit soul. It is unbelievable. No wonder Skywater Academy made an exception for him."

Tang San frowned deeply.

"Teacher, do you know how strong they are now?"

Yu Xiaogang shook his head.

"Not very clearly. I only know that the young man is called Xiao Han. One has Innate Full Soul Power, while another possesses the Top-Tier Beast Spirit, the Ice Phoenix. That alone gives them the foundation to become a powerful team. Moreover, they do not simply follow the Extreme Flow path. Their team combines control, powerful assault, agility assault, and support. In truth, they are a fusion of Fusion Flow and Extreme Flow. A team like that is bound to be a headache."

After hearing Yu Xiaogang's analysis, Tang San grew even more uneasy.

There was only a little over a year left until the Soul Master Tournament. They had to become stronger.

To raise the team's overall strength and deal with more powerful opponents, Tang San developed a cultivation method from the internal cultivation art of the Mysterious Heaven Skill that could help unblock their meridians. He taught it to his teammates, helping them increase their cultivation speed.

The Soul Master Tournament had clear rules forbidding the use of hidden weapons.

But that did not mean hidden weapon techniques could not be used.

To win the tournament, Tang San would do everything he could.

By a stroke of fate, Tang San met Dugu Bo and was brought by him to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

Tang San was stunned by the sight before him.

"This is actually the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well!"

"The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well? Boy, what are you talking about?"

"These clearly divided twin springs of opposing extremes are the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. This place should not have formed long ago, right? Otherwise, the herbs here would not have grown to be only this large."

"Boy, you are wrong. I discovered this place more than ten years ago."

Tang San's face was full of confusion.

"That is not right. Nourished by the spring water of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, the plants here should grow tenfold, even a hundredfold faster. So why are these herbs..."

"Humph!"

Thinking of the herbs that had been taken, Dugu Bo was furious, his eyes gleaming viciously.

"It is all because that flower thief stole my herbs! If I catch him, I will tear him into ten thousand pieces!"

"Senior, do you mean someone has been here before?"

"That is right. The most precious and unusual herbs here were all stolen by that thief. These past few years, I had hoped to wait for him, but he never appeared again. Perhaps there are no more herbs here worth stealing."

"Senior, do you remember what the herbs he stole looked like?"

"Of course I remember!"

Dugu Bo then described the appearances of those herbs to Tang San.

After hearing him out, Tang San's heart nearly shattered.

Only then did he realize that this place had once contained rare Immortal Herbs that could only be encountered by chance, such as Lovesick Heartbreak Red, Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, Infernal Delicate Apricot, Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower, and Aromatic Silk Beauty.

Unfortunately, someone had beaten him to them. They were not meant for him.

Tang San sighed.

"Senior, I never expected so many immortal-grade herbs to have appeared here. If only I had met you earlier. The fact that he could pick the highly poisonous Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot proves that he was exceptionally knowledgeable about herbs."

"Boy, how could I not have wished to meet you sooner? Unfortunately... sigh."

Tang San suddenly thought of something.

"Senior, is there no one you find suspicious?"

"Of course there is. After the herbs were stolen, the person I found most suspicious was Chrysanthemum Douluo of Spirit Hall. He is my mortal enemy and knows quite a bit about herbs. However, with his personality, if he had really done it, he definitely would have used it to provoke me. But he did not, so perhaps it was not him."

"Was there anyone else?"

"There was also Yang Wudi, the clan leader of the Breaking Clan in the Star Luo Empire. He is also quite knowledgeable about herbs. Later, I investigated him in secret and ruled out that possibility."

"Anyone else?"

Dugu Bo suddenly frowned.

"There is one more person, but it is not very likely."

"Who?"

"A few years ago, I encountered the Vice Dean of Skywater Academy at the edge of the poison array. She had brought along two children around ten years old, saying they were searching for soul beasts. I had met Dean Zhao of Skywater Academy a few times before, so I did not pay much attention to it and let them leave. After the herbs were stolen, I investigated her in secret as well and discovered that woman knew nothing about herbs. She could not even enter my Jade Phosphor Serpent Poison Array, much less find this place."

"What a coincidence. Skywater Academy again."

Dugu Bo was somewhat surprised.

"Boy, what do you mean?"

"Nothing. Perhaps it is just a coincidence."

Tang San then told Dugu Bo the information he had learned.

"So that is how it was. When I saw him, he was only around ten years old. Going by what you said, his spirit soul truly is rather special. His Second Soul Ring had already reached the thousand-year level, something unheard of as well."

That night, Tang San could not sleep, tossing and turning over the matter.

Could those top-grade Immortal Herbs really have been stolen by Xiao Han and the others? That is impossible. How old was he? How could he have recognized so many Immortal Herbs?

The remaining herbs in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well might, after several hundred more years of nourishment from the spring water, become immortal-grade herbs as well. Unfortunately, I did not come here sooner...

After swallowing Dugu Bo's Serpent Pill and cultivating for half a year, Tang San's strength improved enormously.

He had also gained the backing of Dugu Bo, a Titled Douluo, and successfully invited him to serve as a guest elder at Shrek Academy.

Another half year passed in the blink of an eye.

With the support of the cultivation method, the other Shrek members increased their cultivation speed.

The Soul Master Tournament was about to begin, and both Tang San and Dai Mubai had broken through Level 40.

The other five were all in their thirties, with Xiao Wu the closest to Level 40.

Meanwhile.

After two years of cultivation, all seven members of the Skywater Team had reached above Level 40.

Yu Hairou was Level 47.

Gu Qingbo and Shui Yue'er were both Level 45.

Shen Liuyu and Qiu Ruoshui were both Level 44.

Xue Wu was Level 51.

Like Shui Bing'er, Xiao Han had reached Level 55.

Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu had both obtained their first Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring.

Shui Bing'er's Fifth Soul Skill was Ice Crystal Greatsword, a powerful assault-type soul skill.

Xue Wu's Fifth Soul Skill was Extreme Ice Unrivaled, which had an even more formidable cooling effect.

Xiao Han's Fifth Soul Ring came from a thirty-thousand-year wind-and-ice dual-attribute soul beast, granting him the soul skill—Blizzard Arrow.

This soul skill could alter the environment of the battlefield and suppress enemies across the board.

The Preliminary Round of the Soul Master Tournament was about to officially begin.

Led by Lin Zhiruo, Xiao Han and the others arrived at the imperial capital—Heaven Dou City.