Who Was Better Suited
The affair between Tang Ya and Ma Xiaotao is a case in point.
Shrek couldn't cultivate a Soul Ring Configuration like Tang Ya's, but the Holy Spirit Cult could, at the cost of Tang Ya almost becoming a different person.
Whether this exchange is worthwhile depends on your perspective.
From the perspective of improving Soul Master's strength, it's worthwhile.
From the perspective of preserving one's sanity, it's not worth it.
There is no standard answer to this question.
After reading the contents of the diary, Xiao Xiao felt a sense of emotion.
She never imagined that Shrek and the Holy Spirit Cult could be compared in this way.
She used to think that Shrek was good and the Holy Spirit Cult was bad; the good should win and the bad should lose—it was simple and clear.
But the diary meticulously analyzed both sides, making her realize that things weren't so simple.
Shrek has Shrek problems, and the Holy Spirit Cult Holy Spirit Cult has its strengths. Behind the words "good" and "bad" lies a complex set of choices.
Xiao Xiao felt her brain wasn't quite processing the information, so she decided to keep these thoughts to herself and process them later.
Finally, let me add that this kind of comparison between Shrek and the Holy Spirit Cult has always existed in the Soul Master World, but most people only see the surface and don't see the intricacies beneath.
I'm laying these things out in writing today not to say that Shrek is bad, nor to say that the Holy Spirit Cult is worth learning from.
I just feel that some things should be seen clearly before making one's own judgment.
As for what that judgment is, everyone has their own answer, so I won't elaborate.
Tang Ya and Ma Xiaotao, one is the former Holy Maiden of the Holy Spirit Cult, and the other is the current Holy Maiden of the Holy Spirit Cult.
Both of them had been members of the Holy Spirit Cult and had close ties with Shrek.
Which of them is more suited to the Holy Spirit Cult's approach, and which is more suitable for Shrek Academy?
[Let's start with Tang Ya. Tang Ya's talent is above average in Shrek Inner Court. Her Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass, which has a bit of a dark attribute.]
This Martial Soul had a glorious history in the Douluo Continent, but by Tang Ya's generation, the ordinary version of Blue Silver Grass was no longer enough to support top-tier combat power.
Shrek arranged a standard, orthodox training path for Tang Ya: cultivating Soul Master Soul Power step by step, acquiring Soul Ring, and making steady progress.
This path is fine, but the problem is that Tang Ya's Martial Soul has a limited ceiling. If she follows this path, the ceiling she can reach is not high.
Shrek wouldn't allocate significant resources to a student who was only slightly above average; the resources Tang Ya received at Shrek were only enough to keep her in a mediocre position.
Tang Ya felt conflicted after reading the contents of the diary.
She has a clear understanding of her own talent and knows that she is not among the top at Shrek.
The diary said that Shrek only provided her with enough resources to keep her in a mediocre position. This sounded harsh, but Tang Ya knew it was the truth.
She had never thought about the issue of resource allocation before, but now, after being told this, a sense of resentment slowly surfaced in her heart.
After Tang Ya arrived at the Holy Spirit Cult, the situation completely changed.
The Holy Spirit Cult assigned her seven black and one red Soul Ring: seven ten- Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring plus one Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring.
This kind of setup is something only Core Disciple at Shrek are qualified to touch; Tang Ya wouldn't even dare to dream of it at Shrek.
The Holy Spirit Cult was able to provide Tang Ya with this configuration because its method of obtaining Soul Ring is different from Shrek.
Evil Soul Master hunt Soul Beast with even more ruthless and savage methods, not caring whether the Soul Beast's age is a good match or not; as long as the age is high enough, they'll put it on themselves.
Tang Ya's physical endurance was just within the limit of being able to withstand this configuration, Holy Spirit Cult equipped her with this Soul Ring.
This practice is taboo at Shrek, but it's standard procedure in the Holy Spirit Cult.
During Tang Ya's time at the Holy Spirit Cult, the speed at which her cultivation improved was something she never dared to imagine at Shrek.
The Holy Spirit Cult's cultivation methods, coupled with the resource allocation from the Evil Soul Master, caused her Soul Power Level to surge dramatically in a short period of time.
She went from an ordinary student to Eight-Ring Soul Douluo, a leap that would take more than a decade to complete at Shrek.
But what was the price? Tang Ya's mind was corrupted by the Evil Soul Master's cultivation methods.
She almost became a different person later on, and this "almost" was not a figment of her imagination; it actually happened.
There are some things Tang Ya did during her time with the Holy Spirit Cult that she herself doesn't want to recall.
She became stronger, but she almost lost herself in the process.
Xiao Xiao felt a tightness in her heart after reading the contents of the diary.
She didn't know much about Tang Ya, only that Tang Ya was Bei Bei's lover and a member of the Tang Sect.
But when Tang Ya detailed her experience in the Holy Spirit Cult in her diary, Xiao Xiao realized that Tang Ya had almost become a different person back then.
Putting the two things together—becoming stronger and almost losing herself— Xiao Xiao felt the latter was more terrifying.
She would rather cultivate slowly than become someone she wouldn't recognize.
So, where is Tang Ya best suited? This question needs to be considered in detail.
From the perspective of Soul Master's growth, Tang Ya is suitable for the Holy Spirit Cult.
The Holy Spirit Cult could provide her with Soul Ring Configuration and cultivation speed that Shrek could not offer, allowing her strength to reach a level she could not have previously attained in a short period of time.
From the perspective of a complete person, Tang Ya is a good fit for Shrek.
Shrek can't give her the best resources, but Shrek can guarantee she won't go astray or ruin her life.
Tang Ya later returned to Shrek and to Bei Bei's side, indicating that she knew in her heart that while the Holy Spirit Cult's methods were fast, she couldn't afford the price to pay.
[As for Ma Xiaotao, Ma Xiaotao situation is completely different from Tang Ya's.]
Ma Xiaotao's Martial Soul is the Evil Fire Phoenix, Martial Soul inherently possesses an evil nature.
If the Evil Fire of the Evil Fire Phoenix is not controlled, it will backfire on its host, causing the host's temperament to change drastically.
When Ma Xiaotao was at Shrek, the problem of her Evil Fire was never resolved, and she would lose control of it from time to time.
Shrek's research on the Evil Fire Phoenix was not in-depth enough, so they could only offer limited help to Ma Xiaotao.
She had stayed at Shrek for so many years, but the hidden danger of the Evil Fire could never be suppressed, which greatly affected her cultivation progress.
Ma Xiaotao's talent far Tang Ya's, but her problem with the Evil Fire) is holding her back.
After reading the contents of the diary, Ma Xiaotao felt a tightness in her chest.
The problem of "Evil Fire" was the most troublesome thing for her since she was a child. She tried all sorts of methods at Shrek, but she could never completely suppress the Evil Fire.
The diary entry said that Shrek's research on the Evil Fire Phoenix was not in-depth enough, which touched a nerve.
She had always known that Shrek couldn't help her much in this matter, but seeing it written so bluntly still made her feel a little uncomfortable.
After Ma Xiaotao joined the Holy Spirit Cult, the problem of her Evil Fire" was actually exploited.
The Holy Spirit Cult is very familiar with the cultivation methods of Evil Soul Master, and the Evil Fire of the Evil Fire Phoenix is essentially similar to the power of Evil Soul Master.
The Holy Spirit Cult ignited Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire, and combined with the cultivation methods of Evil Soul Master, caused her cultivation level to rise like crazy.