Douro Continent

Chapter 323 The Reason for Tang Hao's Retirement (Part 2)

Ning Fengzhi said seriously, "Qinghe, there's something I must remind you. From my interactions with this child over this period of time, if you truly want his help in the future, then never try to recruit him; instead, become his true friend."

Xue Qinghe paused for a moment, met Ning Fengzhi's gaze, and after a long while, slowly nodded, "Teacher, I understand. Thank you for your guidance."

Walking back to the academy, Tang San's mind was filled with Xue Qinghe's words. Father, what exactly caused your conflict with the Spirit Hall? And where is Mother? Although Xue Qinghe didn't mention anything about his mother in his story, Tang San still vaguely felt that his father's seclusion was directly related to his mother.

The teahouse wasn't too far from Shrek Academy, and Tang San quickly returned to the academy, heading straight to the wooden cabin in the woods behind the academy. This had become their exclusive training ground.

At this moment, not only the team members returned, but also Master and Liu Erlong. Only Flander was absent.

"Little San, you're back." The master waved to Tang San when he saw him return.

"Teacher, did you look for me?" Tang San asked as he approached.

The master shook his head and said, "I need to train Rongrong alone. You should come too. What I'm saying will also be helpful to you. She'll need your cooperation in training her."

"Oh?" Tang San looked at Ning Rongrong beside him. At this moment, everyone else was around the wooden house, either meditating or chatting together, while Ning Rongrong was standing next to the master.

"Come with me." The master led Tang San and Ning Rongrong deeper into the woods, without even Liu Erlong following.

After walking about several hundred meters, the master stopped in a relatively open area.

Ning Rongrong asked somewhat nervously, "Master, what kind of special training are you going to give me?" She still felt lingering fear about the master's past grueling training.

The master said, "Rongrong, if I remember correctly, your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School should have a skill called Distraction Control, right? What level have you reached in your cultivation?"

Ning Rongrong paused for a moment before replying, "I've just reached the Three Apertures Control Heart stage. I can barely use it."

The master frowned slightly. "So, this is only the most basic stage. The special training I'm going to give you is in this area."

"Although defeating the Heaven Dou Royal Academy's second team today was easy, their second team definitely doesn't represent the general strength of advanced soul master academies. Especially now that Tang San and Mu Bai's strength has been revealed, the opponents you will face in the future will only become stronger. And your martial soul, which has evolved to the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda level, has a unique advantage. It can be said that whether you can win the championship in the future will depend on your ability."

Ning Rongrong chuckled and said, "Master, are you praising me?"

The master's expression hardened, and he said, "I'm not praising you, but rather the martial spirit of your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. With your current abilities, it's difficult for you to unleash the full power of your martial spirit. Its contribution to the team in battle won't be significant."

Tang San, standing to the side, said with some surprise, "Teacher, Rongrong is already level 40, and her support abilities are quite outstanding. She can boost our four abilities by 50% at the same time; that instantaneous burst of power can almost elevate us to a whole new level!"

The master calmly said, "You're right. She can currently boost your abilities by 50% simultaneously across four areas. So, ask Rongrong, if all of you Shrek Seven Devils were to fight together, how long could she maintain this boost on all six of you at the same time?"

Tang San looked at Ning Rongrong with a puzzled expression, but Ning Rongrong's expression had already changed somewhat. "Master, how do you know the secrets of our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School?"

The master said, "Don't forget, I come from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, one of the three upper sects. The secret of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's spirit isn't so hidden, so it's not surprising that I know it. Not only do I know it, but almost every powerful spirit master knows this secret. But despite this, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School is still the most powerful support-type spirit family. Do you know why?"

Ning Rongrong shook her head blankly.

Tang San, standing to the side, couldn't help but ask, "Is it because of what you just said about distraction control? Teacher, could you explain it more clearly? What is the secret of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul?"

Ning Rongrong looked at the master, who nodded and said, "That's right. The reason why the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda has always maintained its title as the number one support martial soul is certainly related to the martial soul itself, but what's even more important is its ability to control distractions. While increasing soul power is important, this ability to control distractions is even more crucial for your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. If I'm not mistaken, Rongrong's father, Sect Master Ning, has already reached the level of a 'seven-aperture exquisite heart' in terms of this ability to control distractions. Am I wrong, Rongrong?"

Ning Rongrong nodded, also clearing up Tang San's doubts, "The secret of our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul lies in its consumption of soul power. The higher the soul power level and the more soul rings you have, the more obvious this drawback becomes. In my current situation, if I were to provide all six of you with 50% of the four types of assistance at the same time, I could only last for a maximum of three seconds."

"Three seconds?" Tang San was taken aback.

The master said in a deep voice, "I called Rongrong out alone so that everyone wouldn't hear this secret. This world is fair. Although the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda is powerful in its support, it also has its limitations. Because a Soul Master's Soul Power is limited. No matter how good your Martial Soul is, it can't play a sufficient role if there isn't enough Soul Power to support it. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda is so powerful in its support that its consumption of Soul Power is also extremely terrifying. Just imagine, Rongrong, with her level 40 Soul Power, can help all six of you increase your four attributes by 50%. What kind of concept is that? If it can be sustained for a long time, wouldn't any Soul Master be invincible? That day, when Rongrong was supporting Flander and Erlong while we were hunting Soul Beasts, I remembered this problem. If it can't be effectively solved, then in your future competitions, her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul will hardly be able to play its true role."

Tang San then realized, "So the solution you're talking about is the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's distraction control?"

The master nodded and said, "That's right. The so-called 'distraction control' means simultaneously controlling the effects of different soul skills. This method of control is useful for any soul master, but its effect on the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School is particularly significant. For ordinary soul masters, the more powerful the soul skill, the more soul power it consumes. But this is not the case for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. Each of their soul skills consumes the same amount of soul power at the same level. Simply put, if Rongrong is a level 20 Great Soul Master, then her two soul skills each consume one unit of soul power. When she reaches level 30, the soul power consumed by all three soul skills will still be equal. However, because the level of improvement has increased, the soul power consumed will become two units, and so on. In this way, if she only releases all her soul skills at the same time for support, the consumption of soul power will be astronomical. Not to mention her, even a Title Douluo would find it difficult to withstand such a level of consumption."

"And distraction control is the key to solving this problem. In the course of battle, each participant needs different support. For example, with Rongrong's current four soul skills, the most important one for you is the soul power boost. The other three additional effects are not very useful to you; they only consume more of her soul power. Mubai, on the other hand, needs an increase in attack, defense, and soul power; the agility boost is not important. It would be good to be able to provide all the support, but with limited soul power, providing support only at the most crucial moments will undoubtedly allow the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's support capabilities to be fully utilized."

"As far as I know, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's control over distractions is divided into five realms: the Three Apertures of Control, the Four Apertures of Eternity, the Five Apertures of Dispersion, the Six Apertures of Wishful Thinking, and the Seven Apertures of Exquisite Wisdom. Each realm represents the ability to simultaneously control the number of soul skills and the number of times they can be released. For example, the Three Apertures of Control refers to the ability to simultaneously manipulate three soul skills to precisely assist three targets, while the Four Apertures of Eternity refers to the ability to simultaneously manipulate four soul skills to assist four targets. Under such precise assistance, one can achieve what I mentioned earlier: applying the most suitable assistance to the person who needs it most."

At this point, the master paused, giving Tang San a meaningful look before continuing, "For ordinary soul masters, the effect of distraction control isn't very significant, because each soul skill consumes different amounts of soul power, and even with all soul power combined, it might not be enough to unleash all soul skills at once. Therefore, the cultivation method of distraction control has gradually been lost. Only the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School knows it. Rongrong, I hope that before the finals begin, you can at least reach the level of Four Apertures of Eternal Heart. This way, you can at least support four people simultaneously, releasing different support soul skills at different times. This is the true essence of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. Do you understand?"

(End of this chapter)