Tang San pushed the door open. Two ragged breaths rose and fell from inside the room, one low and heavy, the other sharper and higher.
The moment the door opened, both voices stopped. After a burst of rustling clothes, Ash and Alban walked out of the bedroom with flushed faces.
"Tang San, is something wrong?" Alban asked, slightly embarrassed.
Tang San had long since grown used to this. His expression did not change.
"The other four members of the tournament team are here. Let us go welcome them properly."
The moment Tang San mentioned the tournament, Ash's original grin collapsed. Alban's expression also shifted from shy awkwardness to gloom.
To be honest, without the experiences of the original story, Alban's relationship with Tang San was still only average. Especially now, when going out while already exposed was practically suicide. When Alban first learned about the situation, his first thought had been to run. Just as he had once abandoned Blair to survive, he had planned to abandon Tang San and the others to survive again.
Unfortunately, before he could move, members of the White Tiger clan came looking for him. The Star Stripe imperial family belonged to the White Tiger clan, but the White Tiger clan was not limited to the Star Stripe imperial family. Many other branches had their eyes on that imperial seat.
The people who came for him happened to be from a different branch. They gave Alban two choices.
First, they could drag him back and force him to fight his elder brother.
Second, he could participate in the tournament.
Alban understood the second choice very clearly. They wanted to use his status as a prince to damage the current Star Stripe imperial family's prestige and pull them down. But who was he? He was Alban Regis.
So, for the sake of the Star Stripe imperial family, he resolutely chose the second option. After all, he could still tell the difference between dying early and dying later.
As for Ash, he had nowhere else to go. With no path left, he could only listen to Flender and follow Tang San down this road to the end.
Under Tang San's lead, the three of them arrived at the training field. At the edge of the empty field, four people were chatting idly.
Both sides saw each other. The air grew tense. A fight was about to break out.
Ten minutes later, the only Spirit Meister among the four was slammed into the ground by Tang San's hammer and could no longer get up.
The other three, also kneeling in front of him, looked up and saw Tang San gripping his hammer. Three purple and two black Spirit Rings flashed behind him. Behind Ash and Alban, two yellow and two purple Spirit Rings circled each of them.
To be honest, Wu Ling had contributed a great deal to the speed of Tang San and his two companions' cultivation.
Ever since Tang San saw Wu Ling's Spirit Ring arrangement, he had completely ignored Ethan Drake's objections. For the fourth Spirit Ring of his Blue Silver Grass, he chose to absorb beyond the usual limit.
But it was his first attempt, and more than ten years of common sense still restrained him. He did not directly absorb a ten-thousand-year ring like in the original story. Instead, he chose a seven-thousand-year Soul Beast.
In the end, because of the Mysterious Heaven Skill and other factors, he succeeded. The feedback also raised him by two levels, bringing him straight to level forty-two as a Spirit Meister.
But that was still not enough. Knowing how strong Wu Ling was, Tang San turned his attention to his second Martial Soul.
According to the original theory, only after becoming a Titled Sage would a Spirit Master have the physical foundation needed to add Spirit Rings to a second Martial Soul. Otherwise, the body would burst apart.
But after cultivating, Tang San discovered to his astonishment that he was special. Or rather, artificially special. All the Spirit Power related to his second Martial Soul now had somewhere to be released.
That left Tang San half furious and half delighted. He hated Wu Ling for what had been done to his body, yet he was also glad that this might give him the power to take revenge.
After that, matters became simple. First, he found three Spirit Rings for his second Martial Soul, the Clear Sky Hammer. One was seven thousand years old, one was eight thousand years old, and one was nine thousand years old. But because part of that Spirit Power had to be vented, the three rings only gave him four levels of Spirit Power.
With the confidence granted by twin Martial Souls, Tang San finally set his eyes on ten-thousand-year Spirit Rings. Thanks to factors such as a protagonist's luck, he succeeded again and gained a little more than two levels of Spirit Power. By that point, his Spirit Power had reached level forty-eight and was close to level forty-nine.
After another half year of cultivation, Tang San successfully broke through to Spirit Leader and obtained ten-thousand-year Spirit Rings for both the Blue Silver Grass and the Clear Sky Hammer.
As for Ash and Alban, their improvement came from casting aside restraints of thought and morality.
Under Flender's instruction, Ash stopped suppressing his evil fire. Instead, he pushed it even harder. Through day after day of indulgence, his Spirit Power climbed at a rapid pace.
One day, Ash lost control because the evil fire in his body was too intense. Ordinary women could no longer calm it. By coincidence, Alban came to bring him back to the academy.
What followed was a whole string of ridiculous men-charging-into-men jokes. After that, the two of them seemed to open a door to a new world. Whenever they had time, they would "discuss cultivation" together.
"From now on, I am in charge of this team. Who agrees? Who objects?" Tang San asked haughtily, holding his hammer in one hand.
It should have been a commanding and domineering pose, but on Tang San, it carried a soft, almost delicate air. One of the four men opposite him even blushed slightly.
Seeing that no one objected, Tang San nodded in satisfaction.
"Good. I do not need much from you. When the time comes, I will give you a few things. During the match, throw them out immediately. Now, introduce yourselves."
Meanwhile, the geniuses of many academies were making their final preparations.
At the Elephant Armor Sect...
"So you will fight with everything you have in this tournament. As long as you can show your value in front of the Saint, even if you are crippled, I can beg His Highness to heal you." Goran Tremor gave Ryker Ivory a stern warning.
At the three elemental academies...
"We agree to your proposal," Eira Fontaine said to Isaac Gale.
"Hmph. I agree too. But no matter what, I have to fight that vixen. Hmph. So what if she received guidance from His Highness Son? What is she so proud of?" Lyra Blaze said from the side.
Isaac nodded.
"You will. This time, our three academies are joining forces. That is enough to compete with Spirit Hall's main team for the championship. When the time comes, Serena Ivory will be yours."
Finally, Isaac raised his head and looked in the direction of Spirit City. He silently swore, I will make His Highness see my value and permit me to follow at his side.
Inside Spirit City, lively scenes filled every street and alley. But unlike the heated atmosphere outside, a serious mood gathered inside a luxurious training ground. The seven members of Spirit Hall's main team were constantly discussing tactics and sparring.
Vulcan Brand, Cassian Glaive, and Serena Ivory formed the main attack. Blair handled assassination strikes. Avis Graves controlled the field. Oscar and Cecilia Jewel continuously amplified the others so the team could grow used to their power under different boosts.
It was worth mentioning that after living in Spirit City, Oscar in this life had not developed deeper feelings for Cecilia. He certainly had a favorable impression of her, but it was not like the original story, where he would risk everything for her.
Aside from that training ground, another place was also very quiet.
Wu Ling's residence.
Splash.
After pouring tea, Wu Ling set down the teapot, lifted his cup, and took a light sip.
"Another peaceful day."