Douro Continent

Chapter 337 The Limitless and Balanced Styles in the Soul Master World (Part 2)

"There are only five spots available for advancement from the preliminaries. Therefore, if you want to successfully pass the preliminaries, one of these five academies will inevitably be eliminated. The five academies are closely connected, and if I'm not mistaken, they will definitely take action. So, you will encounter increasingly stronger opponents in the subsequent matches. You must take your own destiny into your own hands. If you want to advance to the finals without any suspense, the best way is to win every match in the preliminaries and enter the next round with a perfect record."

"Yes!" The Shrek Academy students responded in unison.

As they stepped out of the rest area, everyone's gaze couldn't help but drift towards the stands. At that moment, the spectators in the surrounding stands were hurling loud boos.

Tang San asked the master in confusion, "Master, what's going on? Why is the audience reacting so strongly?"

The master smiled wryly and said, "Isn't it all because of you? Your opponents forfeited, and many of these spectators came specifically to watch your match. Without you playing, they're naturally unhappy."

At least a third of the people in the stands were dressed in green, or rather, poop green.

Even the Grandmaster and Liu Erlong had to admit Flander's business acumen. They couldn't understand why he had made such a failure of Shrek Academy in the past.

After the Shrek Academy team caused a sensation, Flander immediately sought cooperation to begin mass-producing and selling Shrek Academy team uniforms. Each uniform was also printed with the team members' names.

Among them, Tang San's team uniform sold the most, followed by Dai Mubai's and Zhu Zhuqing's. In just one week, Flander made a fortune from these clothing items.

These past few days, he's been busy again, figuring out how to make and sell mascots for the team. He's been having a blast. The competition arrangements have been completely handled by Master and Liu Erlong.

Someone spotted the Shrek Academy students emerging from the rest area, and immediately, a large number of spectators began chanting "Shrek!" The atmosphere in the arena instantly became enthusiastic.

If this were a Soul Fighting Competition, seeing the audience's high enthusiasm, the Heavenly Dou Great Soul Fighting Arena would definitely invite the Shrek Academy team to the stage for a battle.

Unfortunately, this is the Continental Elite Tournament of Advanced Soul Master Academies, and they don't have the authority to do so. They can only watch with regret as Shrek Academy is absent from today's competition.

The first round of the competition had already begun, and the master immediately pointed out that among the ten teams participating below were the Shenfeng and Tianshui teams. To Tang San's surprise, all the members of Shenfeng Academy actually possessed the ability to fly.

This is undoubtedly a major headache. Furthermore, the team from Tianshui Academy is entirely composed of women, and all of them are beautiful.

Their opponents hadn't even made a move yet, and they were already half-broken. How could a match like this continue?

In the shortest time, Tianshui College quietly and unobtrusively achieved victory.

Kamikaze Academy's attack pattern was simple: their members soared through the air like seven eagles, constantly swooping down to attack. Their rhythm was impeccable.

Each attack was like a thunderbolt, and after three rounds of dives, none of their opponents were left standing.

Observing the two matches, Tang San whispered to Grandmaster beside him, "Teacher, why didn't the teams from these five elemental academies combine members of different elements? Whether it's Elephant Armor Academy or these two academies, they're all composed of Soul Masters of the same element. While this might make them very strong in certain areas, their weaknesses will also become very obvious. Once they can't utilize their strengths, won't they lack staying power?"

The master sighed softly and said, "This is the difference between the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire. The Heaven Dou Empire's advanced soul master academies have always been mainly composed of these five elemental academies. This year, the Heaven Dou Royal Academy produced a Royal Fighting Team, which is not bad. In previous competitions, the Heaven Dou Empire's teams that made it into the top three were all from one of these five elemental academies."

"As you said, these five academies each have their own extreme methods for selecting team members, which is completely different from the Star Luo Empire's emphasis on balance. This has its advantages and disadvantages. When they encounter opponents who cannot counter their strengths, they can often kill them with a single blow. But once they encounter an opponent who counters them, they often suffer a defeat in a short time. Yet, over the years, these five elemental academies have shown no intention of changing their strategy in the war. Do you know why?"

Tang San shook his head blankly.

The master said in a deep voice, "Because this is a struggle between two major schools of thought in the Soul Master world. One school represents balance, and the other represents extremism. The extremists believe that a Soul Master's abilities should follow a pure path, developing their abilities in only one direction and maximizing that single ability. The balance school, on the other hand, believes that a Soul Master's abilities should develop in a balanced way, with a good balance between offense and defense. These two schools have been fighting for a long time. The Soul Master world in the Heaven Dou Empire is mostly supported by the extremists. As you have seen, the Power Clan under your Clear Sky Sect is a typical example. The Clear Sky Sect also has three other extreme schools under its four branches, which you will definitely come into contact with in the future. The Soul Masters in the Star Luo Empire mostly follow the balance path. Perhaps their explosive power is slightly inferior, but their weaknesses are much smaller, and their follow-up abilities are also more outstanding."

"What about the Spirit Hall? Which school of martial arts does the Spirit Hall support?" Tang San asked.

The Grandmaster said in a deep voice, "The Spirit Hall has never expressed support for either side. The Spirit Masters who join the Spirit Hall come from both schools. But strangely, there is never any conflict within the Spirit Hall over this. Our Shrek Academy actually follows a semi-balanced, semi-extreme approach. Or rather, an extreme approach for the individual, a balanced approach for the group. This is the most suitable cultivation method that I have found after many years of research."

"It's better for an individual's strength to be somewhat extreme. This allows them to maximize their potential. As for weaknesses and lack of stamina, those can be completely compensated for by teammates. If each member of a team excels in an extreme skill and complements each other, then that team is successful. Their strength will undoubtedly surpass other teams of the same level. Do you understand what I mean?"

Tang San suddenly realized, "I see. Extreme flow and balanced flow each have their own characteristics. So, does that mean that balanced flow has been dominant all these years?"

The master sneered, "No, it should be said that the fusion style has gained the upper hand. I wasn't the first to propose that the extreme style and the balanced style should be merged. It was the Spirit Hall that truly proposed this idea. However, the Spirit Hall didn't express this idea. Yet, every team representing the Spirit Hall did just that. Therefore, the champions of the previous Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament all belonged to the Spirit Hall."

Tang San frowned and said, "Since the Spirit Hall knows the secret behind this, why doesn't they take the initiative to step forward? With their authority in the spirit master world, they could easily..."

The master shook his head. "This involves politics, power, and various interests; it's far more complex than you think. You're still young. It's best not to concern yourself with these things. What you need to do now is improve your strength as much as possible. If you want to win the final championship, you only have one real opponent: the team sent by the Spirit Hall. Although I can't be sure of their exact strength, I think they are definitely stronger than the Royal Fighting Team and the Five Elemental Academies. The Spirit Hall's true strength is greater than anyone imagines."

At this point, a hint of fear flashed involuntarily in the master's eyes, as if he were recalling some terrifying scene.

Tang San suddenly raised his head and said, "Teacher, I want to go back to the academy first."

The master paused for a moment, "You're not watching the game anymore?"

Tang San nodded. "My Three Apertures Heart Control is still not proficient. You're right. Instead of studying others, we should strengthen ourselves. The strength of these five elemental academies should be similar to that of the Elephant Armor Sect. Although they are strong, just as you said, if we fight with all our might, defeating them is not too difficult. For our true opponents, we should strengthen ourselves as much as possible."

In addition to the competition, Tang San has been undergoing special training every day for the past week.

His cultivation of the Three Apertures of the Heart was entirely based on integrating with his surrounding environment. Communicating with the wild Blue Silver Grass in the forest every day had become an essential part of his training.

After a week, he found that his soul power was increasing at a significantly faster rate, and his Blue Silver Grass martial soul itself was also undergoing some unknown changes.

Tang San couldn't say for sure what the internal changes were, but he was certain that they were all moving in a positive direction.

Now his control over the Blue Silver Grass is more refined than before. Each Blue Silver Grass seems to be an extension of his thoughts. Combined with the use of the Three Apertures Control Heart, although his soul power level has not increased, Tang San can clearly feel his progress in control.

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(End of this chapter)