The Grand Promise—Can You Deliver?

"By the way, Teacher, when I obtain Soul Rings for Blue Silver Grass in the future, should I try to choose Soul Rings that counter things threatening to Blue Silver Grass?" Tang San suddenly asked.

"Hehe, Xiao San, you're still too young after all." Master smiled and shook his head. "By your logic, would all nine of your Blue Silver Grass's Soul Rings have to deal with Soul Skills that threaten Blue Silver Grass?"

"Blue Silver Grass fears fire, so you give it fire resistance. It fears sharpness, so you increase its toughness. But have you considered that if you waste one or two Soul Ring slots on countering things that threaten your Blue Silver Grass, what will you use to fight your enemies—or even contend against them—in the future?"

"But Teacher, if I don't make those preparations, how can my Blue Silver Grass become the strongest control?" Tang San asked in confusion.

"Xiao San, you're thinking too far ahead. These aren't things you need to consider right now." Master patted Tang San's head and said calmly, "Teacher has already arranged your future path for you. What you need to do now is trust your teacher's theories and focus on cultivation. With Teacher here, nothing is difficult. Do you understand?"

"Besides, if you want to become the strongest Control Type Soul Master, you'll need a group of reliable companions. If you don't have reliable companions by your side, then you'll need to cultivate your Soul Power to the level of a Titled Douluo. By then, your lack of offensive power will naturally be resolved."

"And don't you always like tinkering with Hidden Weapons? Though those Hidden Weapons are hardly presentable in my eyes, I have to admit that they possess astonishing power. Combined with your Blue Silver Grass's Entangle, once you restrain an enemy, your Hidden Weapons will be able to display their greatest effect."

Hearing Master's explanation, Tang San felt enlightened. Master was right. Although his Blue Silver Grass lacked offensive power, he could make up for that weakness with Hidden Weapons. Besides, for him, hitting a stationary target was far more comfortable than hitting a moving one.

"Teacher, can I use Hidden Weapons when I fight Cheng Xiao?" Tang San asked.

"No." Master firmly shook his head. "Xiao San, you're only sparring. Winning and losing are normal. Your Hidden Weapons are incredibly powerful, and one careless mistake could easily kill someone."

"Oh." Stopped by Master from using Hidden Weapons, Tang San said somewhat dejectedly, "But Teacher, if I can't use Hidden Weapons, I still have no way to defeat Cheng Xiao. I forged his two Short Swords myself. My Blue Silver Grass simply cannot withstand their sharpness."

Master frowned at that, somewhat displeased. Tang San was good in every way except that he loved getting stuck in his own head. But as his teacher, and having been reminded by Tang Hao, Master still patiently said, "Xiao San, you're still young. Remember not to aim too high. At your current stage, the most important thing is raising your Soul Power level. Sparring with Cheng Xiao is precisely what you need to worry about least. Do you know why?"

"You are a genius with Twin Martial Souls, one seen only once in a hundred years, and you have the theory Master of the Soul Master world as your teacher. Your future development will only become better and stronger than Cheng Xiao's."

"Teacher guarantees that when you reach the level of a Titled Douluo and begin cultivating your second Martial Soul, the Clear Sky Hammer, as the Soul Rings attached to your two Martial Souls increase and your own level rises higher, your Blue Silver Grass will not only cease to be countered—even if it is slashed by blades, burned by fire, or fried in oil, it won't suffer the slightest damage."

"I see." Tang San nodded. For some reason, he had a strange feeling, as though everything would come true in the future, and all he needed to do now was raise his Soul Power level. But why did he keep feeling that something was off?

Actually, this feeling was usually called a CPU, or making grand empty promises.

"Alright, Xiao San, stop dwelling on these matters." Master looked at Tang San, who was still getting stuck in his own head, and slowly said, "After Cheng Xiao returns from obtaining his second Soul Ring, the dean will arrange a sparring match for the two of you. At that time, you may only use your Martial Souls. Only then can your true strength be clearly seen."

"Understood, Teacher," Tang San said softly.

Elsewhere, in the work-study student Dormitory.

After returning to Nuoding Academy from the Star Dou Great Forest, Wang Sheng and the others learned that Cheng Xiao and Xiao Wu had obtained their second Soul Rings and become Soul Grand Masters. They were all full of envy.

They had studied at Nuoding Academy for six years and only barely become one-ring Soul Masters after cultivating day and night. Most of their Soul Rings were Ten-Year Soul Rings, while Soul Rings from Hundred Year Soul Beasts were something Wang Sheng and the others could only dream of.

"Brother Cheng, Sister Xiao Wu." Wang Sheng walked up to them with a grin. "Your talent is really incredible. You became Soul Grand Masters just two years after entering the academy."

Cheng Xiao reached out and patted Wang Sheng's shoulder, smiling as he comforted him. "It's fine. They're only Hundred Year Soul Rings. You'll have them in the future too. Thousand-Year Soul Rings and Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings—you'll have those as well."

"Brother Cheng, we treat you like our big brother, but you treat us like workhorses, huh?" Hearing Cheng Xiao's consolation, Wang Sheng's face showed a trace of bitterness. He knew Cheng Xiao was trying to comfort them, but why did it sound so strange?

"By the way, Brother Cheng, the dean said that once you and Sister Xiao Wu returned, he wanted you to go see him. He said he had something to discuss with you."

"The dean wants to see me?" Cheng Xiao froze slightly.

"Yes, he didn't say what it was. He just told us to let you know once you came back." Wang Sheng scratched his head. He could not make sense of the dean's words either.

"Alright, then I'll head to the dean's office." Cheng Xiao nodded, then looked at Xiao Wu beside him, who had puffed out her little cheeks. He gently pinched her soft little face. "Didn't you say you were tired on the way back? Go take a nap."

"Alright, I'll sleep first. But when you come back, you have to wake me up," Xiao Wu said.

"Mm." Cheng Xiao softly agreed, then quickly left the work-study student Dormitory and headed toward the dean's office of Nuoding Academy.

After Cheng Xiao left, Wang Sheng looked at Xiao Wu, who stood there like a statue waiting for her husband, and gave a light cough. "Sister Xiao Wu, stop staring. Brother Cheng isn't never coming back."

"Of course I know he'll come back." Xiao Wu glared at Wang Sheng, then clenched her little fist and smiled sweetly. "Wang Sheng, I just broke through to Soul Grandmaster. Let's have a spar, shall we?"

"No, Sister Xiao Wu! I was wrong! I'll never talk nonsense again!"

"..."