Douro Continent

Chapter 302 The Thousand-Year-Old Scaled Beast and the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Demon Spider (Part 2)

The master spoke up at this moment, "Choose the Human-Faced Demon Spider. It has nearly six thousand years of cultivation, and you have an external soul bone compared to others, so absorbing its soul ring shouldn't be a problem. It's the same type of soul beast as the last one you hunted. As long as you absorb its energy, not only will it strengthen your third soul skill, but it's also very likely that you'll gain a fourth soul skill for self-defense. The external soul bone will also be enhanced due to the same attribute of the soul beast. It should be your best choice right now. It will greatly benefit your own strength."

As he spoke, the Grandmaster looked at Tang San with a hint of doubt. He was confident that the knowledge he had imparted to Tang San was sufficient; what he could discern, Tang San should also be able to see. Therefore, what was there for him to hesitate about? Human-faced Demon Spiders were extremely rare, as their domineering nature often attracted attacks from other spirit beasts. A cultivation level of six thousand years was already incredibly powerful. The enhancement it would provide to Tang San would undoubtedly have an excellent effect.

But to the master's surprise, Tang San, who was always very obedient, shook his head at this moment, "I'm sorry, teacher, can I choose this fourth spirit ring myself? Dean Flander, Teacher Zhao, I'll choose the Cave Spider."

"What did you say?" Before Flander and Zhao Wuji could react, Grandmaster exclaimed in shock and anger, striding over to Tang San and grabbing his shoulder. "Are you crazy? Didn't you see? That's a ten-thousand-year-old soul beast! And I'm certain that although it's ten-thousand-year-old, its benefits to you will be no greater than those of the Human-Faced Demon Spider. Don't forget, you have a unique external soul bone; strengthening it is even more important than strengthening your Blue Silver Grass."

Upon hearing Tang San's choice, how could the Grandmaster not be anxious? He knew very well that although his disciple possessed twin martial souls, until the problem of the second martial soul adding too many attributes and causing the body to collapse was resolved, he was currently only equivalent to a Blue Silver Grass Soul Master.

As Tang San's soul power increases and his soul rings multiply, his Blue Silver Grass, a standard useless martial soul, will become increasingly weak. Whether it's Dai Mubai's White Tiger martial soul or Ma Hongjun's Phoenix martial soul, both undoubtedly possess top-tier talent, and their soul skills become increasingly terrifying due to the foundation of their martial souls. Tang San, however, is not so fortunate. Although the Blue Silver Grass is highly malleable, it cannot compensate for its inherently fragile foundation. It is, after all, a useless martial soul; even with the best soul rings, it cannot compare to the Fire Phoenix or the Evil-Eyed White Tiger, let alone the number one support martial soul, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. Any one of the other six members of the Shrek Seven Devils possesses a martial soul far stronger than his.

If it weren't for Tang San's extensive knowledge, calm mind, and the Human-Faced Demon Spider external soul bone he acquired at level 30, his strength would already be far ahead of others. Of course, Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang never believed that Tang San's hidden weapons and the poison he learned from Poison Douluo would be of much use. In his mind, as a soul master, one's own strength was the most important thing.

It was precisely for these reasons that the Grandmaster was so emotional at this moment. The most important aspect of choosing the second Human-Faced Demon Spider as his spirit ring was the amplification of the Eight Spider Lances. Although the Grandmaster couldn't be certain on the exact level of this amplification, the Eight Spider Lances' attack power would definitely increase significantly, leading to a substantial increase in Tang San's strength. With this continuously evolving external spirit bone, Tang San's strength wouldn't fall too far behind others.

While Tang San's choice of the Cave Spider isn't necessarily bad, it's clearly not as beneficial to his future development as the Human-Faced Spider.

The Cave Spider and the Human-Faced Spider both belong to the top tier of spider-type magical beasts, but they follow different paths. The Human-Faced Spider is known for its formidable attack power and potent venom, while the Cave Spider hunts its enemies in a different way. Although its reputation isn't as great as the Human-Faced Spider's, nor is it as bloodthirsty, its insidious nature is unmatched.

The Human-Faced Spider excels at terrifying, swift, and domineering attacks, while the Cave Spider is best at using various terrains to create traps for its opponents, using its unique skills to ambush and kill them. Its silk is completely different from that of the Human-Faced Spider. It is not poisonous, but it can form various shapes, unlike the Human-Faced Spider's simple web, which is used to trap and kill its opponents.

In terms of strength, the Cave Spider is definitely no match for the Human-Faced Spider in a head-on confrontation. However, if it is placed in familiar terrain or kept at a certain distance, the Human-Faced Spider will surely die.

Outside the poison array, there were two of each: the Human-Faced Demon Spider, alone among the many soul beasts, its small eyes gleaming with a cold light as it watched them. The Cave Demon Spider, clearly more fortunate with its companions, mingled with the other soul beasts. It was half the size of the Human-Faced Demon Spider, but closer inspection revealed that it had only recently reached the first level of the ten-thousand-year cultivation realm. Its body was slender, with eight legs as well, but noticeably less long and powerful than the Human-Faced Demon Spider's. Its gray body was inconspicuous among the many seemingly formidable soul beasts. Only near its body were some yellowish, thread-like substances—its spiderweb.

In the master's view, Tang San chose the Cave Demon Spider undoubtedly because it wasn't as violent as the Human-Faced Demon Spider, making it easier to absorb its spirit ring, and this Cave Demon Spider had ten thousand years of cultivation. However, this choice was clearly unwise, far less effective than the six-thousand-year-old Human-Faced Demon Spider in enhancing his external spirit bone.

However, to the master's surprise, Tang San looked at him with extremely firm eyes, "Teacher, please let me choose the Cave Demon Spider. I believe it is more useful to me now."

"Why? Give me a reason." The Grandmaster's pride far surpassed that of Flander. Seeing his usually obedient disciple defy him, his voice turned noticeably cold. However, he was not the kind of autocratic elder, so he needed Tang San to explain the reason.

Tang San explained his choice of the Cave Demon Spider with a simple sentence: "Teacher, I chose it because the Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament is about to begin."

The master was taken aback for a moment, then immediately reacted. The coldness in his eyes melted instantly, and looking at his disciple, a look of emotion appeared in his eyes. His hand, which was gripping Tang San's shoulder, tightened unconsciously. "But, don't you think about yourself?"

Tang San was well aware that the Man-Faced Demon Spider Soul Ring would be more beneficial to him. However, choosing the Man-Faced Demon Spider Soul Ring would only enhance his Eight Spider Lances and Spider Web Binding, and his fourth soul skill would likely only play a supporting role to his third soul skill.

Undoubtedly, the Spider Web Binding skill possesses extremely strong single-target restraint capabilities, which complement Tang San's hidden weapon techniques perfectly. However, the Spider Web Binding consumes too much soul power. Even after Tang San's soul power reaches level 40, he can only use it four times at full soul power. If the fourth soul ring is an enhancement of the third, then perhaps the single-target restraint capability will be even stronger, but similarly, the soul power consumption will be enormous. It's even possible that it might only be usable for one hit.

If it were a one-on-one match, this wouldn't be a problem, but Tang San hadn't forgotten that he was part of the Shrek Seven Devils, and moreover, the only control-type Soul Master among them, the soul of the team. The Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament was about to begin. He couldn't just think of himself; he had to consider the entire team as a whole.

While the Cave Spider's spirit ring couldn't enhance Tang San's external spirit bone like the Human-Faced Spider's, Tang San was certain it would grant him a control skill. Moreover, it was highly likely to be a preemptive, area-of-effect control skill. This would be a significant advantage for the Shrek Seven Devils; the benefit of having an extra area-of-effect control skill in team battles was undeniable.

To balance the difference in assistance provided by the Cave Spider and the Human-Faced Spider, and to ensure he didn't fall behind his companions, Tang San weighed his options and decided that the ten-thousand-year-old Cave Spider was clearly his best choice.

Master understood all this, which is why he sighed with emotion. Although Tang San's decision wasn't the most advantageous for him, it was undoubtedly the most correct. His sense of the bigger picture even surpassed his own. He was both happy to have such a selfless disciple and somewhat regretful.

"Teacher, perhaps this cave spider will drop a soul bone for me?" Tang San comforted Master in his own way.

The master sighed and said, "Third Brother, although your physical strength even surpasses Mu Bai's, and you have the energy to absorb a spirit ring beyond your level, don't forget that this time you've jumped a full five thousand years of cultivation. Do you really think you can absorb a ten-thousand-year-old spirit beast? For the sake of the team, you can't risk your life, do you understand? Therefore, I stand by my opinion; the Human-Faced Demon Spider is still your best choice."

Tang San clenched his fists. "Teacher, believe me, I can definitely do it. I once consumed two kinds of immortal herbs from Senior Dugu. These herbs cleansed my body, transformed me, and made my body stronger than you can imagine. Moreover, there's another advantage here. The two immortal herbs I consumed allow me to absorb my spirit ring in a special place. With this, I have almost a 90% chance of success."

(End of this chapter)