Douluo Continent: I am the Ice Archer, my ice power is invincible.

Chapter 42 The Soul Master Competition Begins

After Tang San returned, he told Yu Xiaogang everything he had said to Manager Ao.

Yu Xiaogang frowned, as if he had thought of something.

"Teacher, what's wrong?"

"Those people are very likely from Tianshui University."

"Tianshui Academy?"

"Yes. Tianshui Academy is located in Tianshui City. It's an old and established academy that focuses on the pure water element. Since ice and water are of the same origin, they only admit female students with ice or water attributes."

Tang San thought about it and had a bad feeling.

"It's very likely them. Based on their martial souls, finding out their information shouldn't be difficult."

Yu Xiaogang sighed.

"If it really is them, then we have another formidable rival on our path to the championship. But why would they accept male students? His second spirit ring is already at the thousand-year level, exceeding the limits of what his body can withstand. I really don't know how that boy did it. Could it be that my theory is flawed?"

"Teacher, please don't overthink it. We only have one goal—to win the Soul Master Tournament. It doesn't matter who our opponent is."

Tang San wore a smile and appeared confident, but inside he was panicking.

He thinks he's very capable.

But there are always mountains beyond mountains, and people beyond people.

The mysterious youth's strength was definitely above his own; if he was indeed from Tianshui Academy, he had no choice but to take him seriously.

Next, the Shrek Seven Devils defeated the Royal Fighting Team, and Tang San felt that he was invincible again.

After leaving Soto City and returning to Shrek Academy, Yu Xiaogang made some inquiries and confirmed that the people who had achieved outstanding results in the Soto Grand Arena were from Tianshui Academy.

Yu Xiaogang found Tang San and told him about the situation.

"He was born with full soul power, and the combination of the Frost Bow and Frost Arrow has created the True Ice Bow Martial Soul. It's incredible. No wonder Tianshui Academy made an exception for him."

Tang San frowned.

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

Yu Xiaogang shook his head.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I know the young man's name is Xiao Han. One has innate full soul power, and the other has a top-tier beast martial soul, the Ice Phoenix. That already gives them the potential to become a strong team. What's more, they don't just follow the extreme build route; the team integrates control, strong offense, agile offense, and support, making it a fusion of extreme and powerful builds. Such a team is bound to be a headache."

After listening to Yu Xiaogang's analysis, Tang San felt even more uneasy.

At this point, there was only a little over a year left until the Soul Master Competition, and they needed to become stronger.

In order to improve the team's overall strength and face stronger opponents, Tang San comprehended a set of techniques that could help clear the meridians based on the Xuan Tian Gong internal energy cultivation method, and taught it to his teammates to help them improve their cultivation speed.

The Soul Master Competition has clear rules prohibiting the use of hidden weapons.

However, this does not mean that concealed weapon techniques cannot be used.

In order to win the match, Tang San would try every possible method.

~~~~~~

By chance, Tang San met Dugu Bo and was taken to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well by Dugu Bo.

Tang San was stunned by the sight before him.

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

"The Yin-Yang Well of Ice and Fire? Kid, what are you talking about?"

"These two distinct springs are the eye of ice and fire. This place must not have been formed for very long, otherwise the herbs here wouldn't be so small."

"Boy, you're mistaken. I discovered this place ten years ago."

Tang San looked puzzled.

"That's not right. With the nourishment of the Yin-Yang Spring, the plants here should be growing tenfold, or even a hundredfold. But what's wrong with the herbs?"

"snort!"

Thinking of the herbs that had been picked, Dugu Bo was furious, his eyes flashing with malice.

"It's all that flower thief's fault for stealing my medicinal herbs! If I catch him, I'll tear him to pieces!"

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

"That's right. The most precious and unique herbs here have all been stolen by that thief. In the past few years, I had planned to wait for him to come back, but he has 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!"

Then, Dugu Bo described the appearance of the herbs to Tang San.

Tang San's heart was broken when he heard this.

He then realized that rare and precious herbs such as the Love-Sick Heartbreak Red, the Eight-Cornered Ice Grass, the Fiery Apricot, the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower, and the Fragrant Silk Fairy Herb had once appeared here.

Unfortunately, those magical herbs had already been claimed by others, and he missed out on them.

Tang San sighed:

"Senior, I never imagined that so many rare medicinal herbs had appeared here. If only I had met you sooner. The fact that he was able to pick the highly poisonous Eight-Cornered Ice Grass and the Fiery Apricot Blossom shows that he is someone who knows plants very well."

"Young man, how I wish I had met you sooner! Alas, alas..."

Tang San suddenly thought of something.

"Senior, don't you have anyone you suspect?"

"Of course. After the herbs were stolen, I thought the most suspicious person was Chrysanthemum Guan from the Spirit Hall. He's my mortal enemy and quite knowledgeable about herbs. However, given his personality, if he really did it, he would definitely use it to provoke me. But he didn't do that, so it probably wasn't him."

"Are there any other people?"

"There's also Yang Wudi, the patriarch of the Po clan of the Star Luo Empire, who is also quite knowledgeable about flowers and plants. Later, I secretly investigated him and ruled out that possibility."

"Anything else?"

Dugu Bo suddenly frowned.

"There's one more person, but that's unlikely."

"Who is it?"

"A few years ago, I encountered the vice dean of Tianshui Academy at the edge of the poison array. She was with two children around ten years old, saying they were looking for soul beasts. I had met Dean Zhao of Tianshui Academy a few times before, but I didn't pay much attention at the time and let them leave. After the herbs were stolen, I also secretly investigated her and found that the woman knew nothing about herbs. She couldn't even enter my Azure Phosphorous Serpent Poison Array, let alone find this place."

"What a coincidence! It's Tianshui Academy again."

Dugu Bo was somewhat surprised.

"Kid, what do you mean?"

"It's nothing, probably just a coincidence."

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

"I see. When I met him, he was only ten years old. According to you, his martial soul is indeed quite special. His second spirit ring has reached the thousand-year level, which is unprecedented."

At night, Tang San couldn't sleep, pondering the matter.

"Could it be that Xiao Han and his group really stole those top-grade immortal herbs? That's unlikely. How old is he? How could he possibly identify so many immortal herbs?"

"The remaining herbs in the Yin-Yang Well, nourished by the spring water, might grow into celestial-grade herbs in a few hundred years. It's a pity I didn't come here sooner..."

～～～～～～～

After consuming Dugu Bo's snake core and cultivating for half a year, Tang San's strength was greatly enhanced.

He thus managed to curry favor with Dugu Bo, a titled Douluo, and successfully invited Dugu Bo to become a guest minister at Shrek Academy.

Half a year has passed in the blink of an eye.

With the aid of their cultivation techniques, the other members of Shrek Academy increased their training speed.

The Soul Master Competition is approaching, and both Tang San and Dai Mubai have broken through to level 40.

The other five are all around level 30, with Xiao Wu being the closest to level 40.

~~~~~~~~~

the other side.

After two years of training, all seven members of the Tianshui team have reached level 40 or above.

Yu Hairou, Class of '47.

Gu Qingbo and Shui Yue'er are both at level 45.

Shen Liuyu and Qiu Ruoshui are both level 44.

Snow Dance, Level 51.

Xiao Han, like Shui Bing'er, reached level fifty-five.

Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu both obtained their first ten-thousand-year soul ring.

Shui Bing'er's fifth soul skill is the Ice Crystal Greatsword, a powerful offensive soul skill.

Snow Dance's fifth soul skill is Ice Extreme Unparalleled, which has an even more powerful cooling effect.

Xiao Han's fifth soul ring came from a 30,000-year-old wind and ice dual-attribute soul beast, granting him the soul skill "Blizzard Arrow".

This soul skill can alter the battlefield environment, allowing for comprehensive suppression of the enemy.

The preliminary rounds of the Soul Master Tournament are about to officially begin.

Led by Lin Zhiruo, Xiao Han and his group arrived at the capital of the empire—Tian Dou City.

(End of this chapter)