On the other side, in the Thunder Academy camp, inside Tang San's tent.
Having finished treating his wounds, Tang San had already woken up, and he was now staring blankly at the ceiling above.
He had lost. He had lost to Yun Ming again today, and he had lost even faster than the last time. This left him feeling deeply uncomfortable and lost.
He had clearly raised his strength to this level, and even his uncle Tang Xiao had said that not only was his cultivation at his age far superior to his father's, but his strength at the same level also far surpassed his father's. How could he have been defeated by Yun Ming today with such a lack of suspense? He didn't know how to beat Yun Ming. He couldn't see any hope!
The Soul Saint teacher leading the Thunder Academy team saw Tang San in this state and didn't know what to say. In his eyes, Tang San was already strong enough, and he felt that in a head-on confrontation, he wouldn't be any weaker than himself. However, Yun Ming was too strong—strong to the point of despair. Tang San could only be described as unlucky; being born in the same era as such a heaven-defying genius meant he was destined to become a background character. And he might even be the most dazzling one among them, which was truly tragic and terrifying to think about.
In the end, the team leader didn't know how to console Tang San, so he left the tent after saying, "Rest well."
Not long after, Tang Xiao entered the tent. Seeing Tang San, who had been struck so hard he was wallowing in self-isolation, he sighed inwardly.
He could understand Tang San's current feelings to some extent. Tang Hao had been just as dazzling back in the day, and even though he was fifteen years older than Tang Hao, he had still felt immense pressure. When he finally received the title of "Xiao Tian," he had also experienced a touch of disappointment.
He had originally thought that even if he lost one spirit, Tang San, whose natural talent still surpassed Tang Hao's by three points, would follow his father's path and be invincible among his peers. He hadn't expected this generation to produce a terrifying monster like Yun Ming, who even hailed from the Breaking Clan—this was truly damnable!
Tang Xiao had watched the entire battle earlier. Although Tang San had relied on his little tricks (referring to his Hidden Weapons) to gain a slight opportunity, he was far too weak in the face of Yun Ming's spear techniques. Tang San's loss was not unjust.
After pondering for a moment, Tang Xiao decided to probe his nephew's current thoughts. He looked at Tang San with an expressionless face and said, "What? Are you going to stay down just because you lost once?"
Hearing the familiar voice, Tang San responded in a hoarse, unwilling tone.
"I'm not, I just..."
"Just don't know how to win," Tang Xiao finished for him.
Tang San didn't speak, silently acknowledging Tang Xiao's words.
Seeing Tang San's reaction, Tang Xiao understood and continued.
"Do you know where you lost?"
Tang San said dejectedly, "Please, Uncle, enlighten me."
Tang Xiao analyzed it seriously. "In terms of hard power like your strength and speed, you are not inferior to your opponent."
"You lost because your temperament is not steady enough, your combat experience is lacking, your insight is insufficient, and you lack the ability to fight head-on."
"If your frontal combat capability could suppress the opponent, you could force out many of their methods, rather than being forced to exhaust all your own tricks while achieving nothing."
"In the final clash between you two, the timing of those bamboo slips you threw was indeed good, but the attack power was too weak. It could be easily broken in many ways, such as using the Breaking Clan's first inherited spirit skill, 'Pierce.' You were too confident and didn't consider the aftermath if your surprise attack failed. This is a sign of your lack of combat experience and insight; it is the first reason for your defeat today."
"Secondly, you were influenced by hatred during the battle and lost your reason. You could have blocked the attack first and then looked for an opportunity, but you chose to trade injury for injury. However, you knew nothing about the opponent's abilities. Before that, the opponent hadn't used a single spirit skill other than his spear light. What made you think your Flying Hammer would definitely hit and achieve the result you wanted? This is the second reason that led to your failure."
"The final result was that you gambled and lost. The opponent was able to break your attack, while you lost the match and suffered heavy injuries due to your ignorance of the opponent's capabilities."
After listening to Tang Xiao's analysis, Tang San was speechless. He had thought his battle plan was flawless, but he hadn't expected so many errors. Now that Tang Xiao had pointed them out, he finally realized them. This made him harbor some doubts about his own combat ability. However, if he could really make up for these shortcomings as Tang Xiao said, he felt he might really—no, he would definitely—win. He was a disciple of the Tang Sect; how could he keep losing to a native!
Thinking of this, Tang San's eyes regained their fighting spirit. Ignoring the pain of his wounds, he struggled to sit up and said sincerely, "Please, Uncle, teach me!"
Seeing Tang San so agitated, Tang Xiao quickly stepped forward to hold him down. As long as he hadn't lost his spirit and could recognize his own problems, he could still be saved. Tang Xiao said with satisfaction, "Don't move around; focus on healing your wounds first."
"After you recover, everything I know will be taught to you without reservation."
Tang San responded firmly, "Yes, Uncle!"
Tang Xiao's analysis was very serious, and the problems mentioned did indeed exist for Tang San. However, Tang Xiao had one more worry he didn't voice: even if Tang San could achieve everything he just said, he didn't think Tang San would necessarily be able to beat Yun Ming.
Yun Ming gave him a feeling very similar to Tang Chen—his comprehension of the way of weapons was superb, and his combat talent was astonishing. Even if Tang San were to master the essence of the Clear Sky Sect, he would at most be another Qian Daoliu. Qian Daoliu was clearly stronger than Tang Chen in terms of his spirit, yet he was a notch weaker in combat power. Why? Because aside from Tang Chen's truly superior combat talent, Qian Daoliu's pride was also a factor. Tang San also suffered from this problem. So, could Tang San turn the tide? Tang Xiao didn't know.
Therefore, Tang Xiao had to make other plans. For now, he would stick to the original plan. Although Yun Ming's combat power had been revealed and Tang San's idea of winning the championship to obtain a Spirit Bone had fallen through, the main plan could still be executed.
Tang San and Tang Xiao had used the Clear Sky Sect's status to bypass Yu Xiaogang and join the Thunder Academy under the alias "Tang Yin" to re-enter the Soul Master Competition. They weren't here to pursue honor or fame; they had other goals.
With his doubts cleared, Tang San remembered his healing. He had Tang Xiao take him to a place abundant with Blue Silver Grass, where he activated his mother's spirit bone skill, "Wildfire cannot burn it out; the spring breeze brings it back to life," and began to recover his injuries rapidly.
At the cost of a bizarre, large-scale death of Blue Silver Grass within the Royal Hunting Ground, the effect was outstanding. One wondered what Ah Yin would think if she saw her son using her ability in such a way.
In the days that followed, the competition continued.
On the VIP Platform, Ning Fengzhi looked at the Thunder Academy team, which was now missing Yu Tianxin and Tang San, his gaze like a deep pool.
Yesterday, Ning Fengzhi had gone to the Empire Team's camp and learned of Tang San's identity from Yun Ming.
He had been shocked when he first found out. Gu Rong had told him that Tang San's spirit origin had been destroyed so thoroughly that there was no possibility of recovery. Yet now, not only had Tang San recovered, but his spirit had also evolved and become even more powerful. He just didn't know if the Clear Sky Hammer had recovered as well. If it hadn't, it would be fine, but if it had, that would give him a headache.
Regarding this point, although Yun Ming hadn't been able to detect it either, he felt it hadn't recovered; otherwise, why would Tang San still be using a hammer spirit skill? Although Ning Fengzhi agreed with this view, he dared not draw a conclusion before he was certain.
It was a pity that he couldn't kill them to silence them now. With Ning Fengzhi's shrewdness, he could naturally guess who it was that Chen Xin had discovered yesterday. Moreover, Tang Xiao was not Yu Yuanzhen; if he moved against Tang San in front of him, he might truly fight to the death. The Clear Sky Sect's supreme secret technique, the "Great Sumeru Hammer," had too many variables. If he were to drag a Title Douluo down with him, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect could not afford the loss.
As for the possibility that Tang Hao was dead and his unique skills were lost, Ning Fengzhi didn't believe in such a possibility at all. Therefore, he chose to follow Yun Ming's idea for now: stay put and wait for the right moment.
Returning to the Promotion Tournament itself, after Yun Ming and Feng Xiaotian had defeated the Thunder Academy with thunderous momentum yesterday, the remaining academies no longer held any expectations of defeating the Empire Team. Thus, they all chose to forfeit when facing the Empire Team afterward.
In the end, after fourteen rounds of the Promotion Tournament, the Empire Team finished with fourteen consecutive victories, securing the best ranking in the Heaven Dou Empire division and ending perfectly as they advanced to the Finals.
───────────────
Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: DaoistReader