Grandmaster's Little Secret

"I told you! Why are you bothering Oscar with this stuff?

If he wants us to help Tang San hunt for a Spirit Ring, then we'll make a trade.

His father certainly can't follow Tang San around forever, and when the time comes, Yu Xiaogang will definitely come knocking on our door!

With that Spirit of his that looks like a pig mixed with a dog, and only knows how to fart, I don't believe for a second he'd dare take Tang San into the Star Dou Great Forest by himself!"

Ma Hongjun snorted with laughter, but quickly covered his mouth.

Mocking a Spirit and mocking someone's appearance are the same thing; according to his senior brother, all appearances are illusions, and mocking someone's looks only makes one seem unrefined.

Well... that's just Zhao Wuji's personality, but he couldn't afford to be immoral.

Flender glanced at him; over the last two years, he had become increasingly satisfied with this little fatty.

Not only had he evolved his Spirit into Ultimate Fire, but under the scorching heat of this flame, he was looking more and more like a porcelain doll.

Although he was still a bit chubby, in a few more years, the effects of the Ultimate Fire would surely transform him into an exceptionally handsome young man.

He also knew that all of this had something to do with Oscar, but he never asked for details—after all, it was his own child's secret.

Most importantly, the little fatty's personality was being shaped for the better by Oscar; at this rate, he would be a grandmaster himself one day.

In the future, he would assist Oscar, one in the light and one in the shadows.

Oscar would be the Shrek Academy Dean in the open, and once Ma Hongjun grew up, he would give him a position as a deputy leader of Sky Net. It was a beautiful plan.

Thinking of this, a look of pride appeared on Flender's face, which left Zhao Wuji feeling confused.

"Since we happened to mention Grandmaster today, let's talk about his theories."

Oscar took two teacups from the table and brewed a pot for himself and Ma Hongjun.

"He has a near-obsessive interest in toxins. His line of thinking isn't bad; he managed to think of having a Blue Silver Grass Spirit Master pursue a path of poison, even having the child fuse with a Mandala Snake Spirit Ring."

Flender became interested as well, wanting to see if Oscar had gained any deep understanding of Spirit theory during his spare time over the last two years.

"Not bad? A plant-type Spirit choosing a Mandala Snake as a Spirit Ring?"

Oscar smiled, looking at Flender with an unreadable expression.

"What? Do you have a better direction for development?"

Flender sipped his tea, looking at Oscar with quite a bit of expectation.

Oscar had given Flender too many surprises—Self-Created Soul Skills, helping Ma Hongjun refine Ultimate Fire... each and every one of these was enough for him to treat this ten-year-old child as a young man with independent thoughts.

"Just some insights. If there is anything incorrect, I ask that you teachers please correct me."

Oscar said modestly before picking up a quill, dipping it in ink, and writing on the paper.

"The characteristic of a Spirit is that it allows a Spirit Master to possess its traits, perhaps strength, perhaps speed, or perhaps defense.

The characteristic of a plant is its tenacious vitality; similarly, a plant-type Spirit Master can inherit this, which can be seen in the plant-type Spirit Masters within Soto City.

Most of them live for a long time and have strong sustained combat capabilities.

Likewise, a Spirit Ring will inherit corresponding traits to the Spirit Master. If one absorbs a Spirit Ring from a plant with strong resilience like bamboo, they will inherit resilience and vitality. If one absorbs a plant Spirit Ring like a vine that grows long distances, it will enhance reach, flexibility, and vitality."

Oscar spoke slowly; these were things he had learned from watching and participating in battles at the Soto City Grand Spirit Arena over the years, a theoretical foundation born from observation and practice.

"As for Blue Silver Grass, its most powerful trait is its tenacious vitality—wildfires cannot destroy it, and the spring breeze brings it back to life.

As Spirit Masters, we must enhance the long board of our Spirit and supplement the short boards around it, rather than sacrificing the long board to compensate for the short ones.

Choosing a Mandala Snake can indeed enhance the resilience of Blue Silver Grass, but many plant-type Spirit Beasts provide even more of that, and they are more compatible, while also enhancing the Spirit Master's long board of vitality.

In comparison, the resilience added by a Mandala Snake seems a bit redundant.

As a Grandmaster, I think he should be able to think of this too. But he has his eye on the toxicity of the Mandala Snake, wanting to lead his disciple down the path of a poison Spirit Master.

But he hasn't considered that, according to the inheritance of Spirit Rings, while inheriting toxins, the toxins will also accumulate in the Spirit Master's body, which will greatly damage their vitality—the very long board of a plant-type Spirit Master.

Even more seriously, it will leave the Spirit Master with hidden illnesses!

It's not worth the loss!"

After Oscar finished speaking, the group remained in thought, combining their past knowledge and experience to deduce the validity of what Oscar had said.

It wasn't until the tea had gone cold that Flender spoke with a dry throat.

"Little Ao, you're right. The students from previous years who practiced toxins did indeed have the problems you mentioned, such as changes in eye color, hair color, and feeling physical discomfort at specific times.

That Poison Douluo is likely plagued by these same issues."

Flender picked up his teacup and downed it in one gulp.

"We were wrong; we've harmed many children... Little Ao, do you have any insights? For example, how to neutralize the toxins, or how one should cultivate?"

"Spiders and snakes release toxins through fangs, and they also have specialized poison sacs to store them. A scorpion's poison sac is stored in its tail, using the stinger to release the toxin.

Man follows the Earth, Earth follows Heaven, Heaven follows the Dao, and the Dao follows Nature.

To resolve all of this, one must naturally follow the course of nature, learning how living things store and release toxins. Only in this way can one avoid being affected by the toxins.

A Spirit is a part of a Spirit Master's body; if toxins are stored within the Spirit, problems will arise sooner or later. To solve this, one must start with Spirit Rings and Spirit Bones.

Or, one could create a technique to reverse-channel the toxins into the Spirit Ring, or find an expensive Spirit Bone to store the toxins, treating it as a poison sac."

What Oscar said made Flender's eyes brighten bit by bit; things that had been overlooked in the past became increasingly clear at this moment.

"But I only know a general direction; Spirit Bones are extremely difficult to obtain, and creating cultivation techniques is even harder."

Flender naturally knew all this, but finding a direction they had overlooked was the most precious thing of all!

Especially a direction that was right in front of their eyes yet had been ignored by everyone all along!

Things hidden in plain sight are the hardest to find!

"Little Ao, you have truly given me, your father, a huge surprise!"

Flender patted Oscar on the shoulder. Shao Xin looked at his precious disciple with growing satisfaction, though he also felt a bit troubled.

With his disciple being so outstanding, what would he be able to teach him in the future?

"Little Ao, hurry and tell us what should be chosen as the first Spirit Ring for that Blue Silver Grass spirit?"

Zhao Wuji didn't think too much about it; he was purely curious.