Douluo: Soul-Breaking spear

Chapter 137: First Appearance

For this Soul Duel, Team Heaven Dou One seemed to take it quite seriously. However, the situation was much bleaker for Blue Tyrant Academy. Among all their team members, none of them were Soul Elders; they were all Soul Grandmasters.

The outcome was essentially the opposite of what happened in the original storyline. Tang San directly used his fourth soul skill, Blue Silver Prison, trapping all the Blue Tyrant Academy members. Then, Yu Tianheng unleashed a lightning-based area attack soul skill, knocking down the entire Blue Tyrant Academy team in an instant. Some members were even seriously injured. The match was over in less than half a minute, with Team Heaven Dou One emerging victorious.

Of course, the match also featured that iconic line: "Did they die?"

This was Tang San's sarcastic response when Blue Tyrant Academy's coach complained to the referee, accusing Team Heaven Dou One of deliberately attempting to kill their opponents in violation of tournament rules.

Yang Potian couldn't help but shake his head in silence. Knowing Tang San's personality, if anyone dared to injure Xiao Wu, Tang San would probably ignore all the rules and kill them outright. The original storyline had plenty of similar moments.

At this moment, Yang Potian was carefully observing Tang San. He noticed that Tang San's strength was indeed quite formidable, with his soul power already at level 45. Having consumed the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng, Tang San's recovery capabilities were also likely excellent.

Tang San's current soul ring combination consisted of two yellow and two purple rings. His fourth soul skill, as in the original, was Blue Silver Prison. It likely originated from a spider-type soul beast of around 5,000 years, but its power was far inferior to the original story's ten-thousand-year fourth ring. Although it remained a crowd-control skill, its effective control duration was less than four seconds—far below the original's eight seconds against Soul Elder-level opponents.

Yang Potian also noticed that when Ma Hongjun attacked Blue Tyrant Academy's students with flames, the Blue Silver Grass nearby seemed to burn as well.

Tang San's Blue Silver Grass in its current state was far inferior to its portrayal in the original story in terms of toughness or immunity to fire and ice. Even Tang San's physical attributes were significantly weaker, likely due to the absence of the original's ice-and-fire refinement process.

Nonetheless, Emperor Xue Ye, Ning Fengzhi, and the other guests in the VIP section seemed quite pleased with Tang San and his teammates. Team Heaven Dou One's overwhelming victory in such a short time brought glory to Heaven Dou Imperial Academy.

The Second Day of Competition

The second day of matches began, and Team Heaven Dou Two faced Purple Star Academy.

Regarding their opponents, Yang Potian could only feel helpless. Purple Star Academy, consisting entirely of Soul Grandmasters with no Soul Elders, was one of the weakest teams.

However, when Team Heaven Dou Two entered the stage, they stunned everyone present. Their lineup included three Soul Elders, one Soul King, and three Soul Grandmasters.

The audience was particularly shocked when Yang Ping'an revealed his black soul ring and level-51 soul power. Even the announcer was speechless as they nervously announced:

"Vice-Captain Yang Ping'an of Team Heaven Dou Two. Martial Soul: Soul-Breaking Spear. Soul Power: Level 51. Soul Rings: Two Yellow, Two Purple, and One Black. This is incredible! He's the only Soul King in the Heaven Dou Region for this competition and likely the highest-level soul power among all contestants in the tournament!"

Additionally, both Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling captivated the crowd. At present, the highest soul power level among competitors was Tang San's level 45. Yet Dugu Yan had already reached level 49, and Ye Lingling was at level 48.

Even Niu Meng had reached level 45, matching Tang San's soul power.

As for Purple Star Academy, their members trembled in fear. They had hoped for a simple match but instead faced opponents of such a high caliber.

Dugu Yan activated her soul rings, enveloping the field in green gas. Moments later, Team Heaven Dou Two charged forward. In the blink of an eye, all seven members of Purple Star Academy collapsed, foaming at the mouth and convulsing on the ground.

Thankfully, Ye Lingling immediately healed them; otherwise, their injuries might have affected their participation in future matches.

On the stage, Yang Tianyue pouted and complained to Dugu Yan:

"Sister Yan, you're too fast! I didn't even get a chance to show my strength before they all fell!"

The other team members also looked at Dugu Yan with some resentment. This was their first Soul Duel match, and they hadn't even had a chance to showcase their abilities.

Some audience members, noticing Yang Tianyue's youthful appearance, couldn't help but wonder where such a young child had come from. How could someone so small participate in the Soul Master Tournament? However, Yang Tianyue was only at level 38, dragging down the average soul power of the Soul King-level team.

Reactions and Observations

Meanwhile, all the teams watching the match wore grim expressions. The fight had been incredibly brief, leaving Yang Ping'an's full capabilities untested.

Everyone knew the Soul-Breaking Spear was a martial soul of the Po Clan, renowned for their fierce combat skills. Members of the Po Clan always chose offensive soul rings, making them nearly unbeatable among soul masters of the same level. Yang Ping'an was clearly not someone to underestimate.

Some sharp-eyed instructors also noticed Ye Lingling's remarkable healing abilities. The wounds on Purple Star Academy's members healed at an astonishing speed, surpassing even what a Soul Emperor healer could achieve.

At the same time, Yu Xiaogang and Tang San watched the match with serious expressions.

Yu Xiaogang hadn't expected a Soul King to appear on Team Heaven Dou Two. Based on Titan's introduction, Dugu Yan's soul power was incredibly deep, close to the breakthrough point. By the finals, she might even become a Soul King.

What surprised Yu Xiaogang the most was Niu Meng's progress to level 45, matching his prized disciple Tang San. Meanwhile, Bai Xiaofei and Tailong, who followed Tang San to Team Two, were only at level 42.

A year ago, Niu Meng had only been one level higher than Bai Xiaofei and Tailong, but in just one year, the gap had widened to three levels.

Yu Xiaogang clenched his teeth, baffled by the growing disparity. Both teams underwent similar training, with the only difference being a minor mishap in the medicinal baths. How could the gap have grown so large? Team Heaven Dou One even received significant support from the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Clan, including the best medicinal baths.

After a moment of silence, Yu Xiaogang turned to Tang San and asked:

"Xiao San, what do you think of Team Heaven Dou Two? What are their strengths and weaknesses?"

Tang San pondered for a while before responding:

"Team Heaven Dou Two is very strong. In their last match, most of their members didn't even get to showcase their abilities before it ended. Yang Ping'an, Dugu Yan, and Ye Lingling were particularly impressive. Yang Ping'an's soul power is outstanding. In a one-on-one fight, I doubt anyone in the Heaven Dou Region could defeat him—not even me."

"Dugu Yan's poison is extremely powerful. Against anyone below Soul Elder level, it's nearly unbeatable. However, against Soul Elders, her effectiveness would likely diminish significantly."

"But Team Heaven Dou Two has weaknesses. First, they have three Soul Grandmasters, who are significantly weaker than the others. They seem to be there just to fill out the numbers. This means at least two Soul Grandmasters will always be on the field, creating a clear vulnerability."

"Another issue is that they lack an agility-type soul master or a flying-type soul master, which limits their tactical options."

"Finally, based on their performance in the last match, it seems they haven't developed specific strategies for the Soul Master Tournament. Their coordination is good but still leaves exploitable gaps."

Yu Xiaogang nodded, his face showing a trace of satisfaction. "Xiao San, your analysis is very insightful. Team Heaven Dou Two appears to be very strong, but their lineup is unbalanced, with significant differences in strength among their members. A team must cooperate effectively and not leave any gaps, or they will become vulnerable to targeted strategies.

"I've also heard that Team Heaven Dou Two has never participated in a team Soul Duel match before. Their experience in team-based combat is lacking, and they have virtually no tactical planning. By the time the finals come around, they may expose significant weaknesses."

"The most critical issue is that their team has only one support member. The academy's board once approached Yang Potian to ask if he needed additional soul masters, but he declined. This shows that the members of Team Heaven Dou Two are very arrogant, which is another point we can exploit."

Yu Xiaogang and Tang San's analysis seemed reasonable, and even the surrounding students couldn't help but nod in agreement. However, three individuals on the sidelines remained silent.

The Silent Observers

Tai Long and Bai Xiaofei exchanged bitter smiles as they looked at Niu Meng's progress. Since leaving Team Two to join Team One, they had felt increasingly out of place. Team One's members were clearly all extraordinarily talented, while Tai Long and Bai Xiaofei lacked such gifts. Their progress in cultivation and learning was notably slower.

It was like students who rely on hard work being placed in a class of prodigies—they needed a different training method. Tai Long and Bai Xiaofei clearly couldn't adapt to Yu Xiaogang's genius-oriented teaching style. Nor did they possess the talent or self-regulation skills to bridge the gap.

To make matters worse, Tang San, the team leader, had little time to spare for Tai Long and Bai Xiaofei. Most of his focus was on improving his own abilities and spending time with Xiao Wu.

The third silent figure was Ning Rongrong. Unlike in the original story, she hadn't received the Yearning Heartbroken Red immortal herb from Tang San. Her relationships with her teammates weren't as strong as depicted in the original either. Even though Oscar had pursued her relentlessly, she didn't quickly fall for him as she had in the original timeline.

In fact, after entering Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, Oscar, surrounded by beautiful women, had started dating someone else. Now, he and Ning Rongrong were just ordinary teammates.

Without falling into romance, Ning Rongrong seemed more focused and perceptive. Her experiences were far broader than those of her Shrek Academy peers, and she understood the terrifying strength of Team Heaven Dou Two better than anyone else.

Ning Rongrong's Perspective

While Yu Xiaogang's analysis was accurate, Ning Rongrong knew how powerful the Po Clan soul masters were in terms of offensive capabilities. The training undergone by Team Heaven Dou Two was far more rigorous than Yu Xiaogang imagined.

In the past year, Yang Potian had clearly implemented new training methods and had even stayed within the Po Clan to train, likely to keep his methods hidden from Yu Xiaogang and the others.

Most importantly, Yang Potian himself had not yet entered the competition. Ning Rongrong had heard from her two grandfathers that Yang Potian possessed at least high-level Soul King strength, possibly even reaching the Soul Emperor level. If he were to step onto the stage, he might be able to handle the entire Team Heaven Dou One single-handedly.

Ning Rongrong's relationship with Tang San wasn't as close as it had been in the original story. While the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan still maintained their hidden weapon business with Tang San and remained his largest clients, tensions had arisen during a previous interaction.

When Tang San requested the Heart Separation Control Technique from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, Ning Fengzhi, Rongrong's father, agreed to provide it—but only in exchange for one of Tang San's cultivation techniques. Tang San flatly refused the offer.

Even Yu Xiaogang had supported Tang San's stance, as if Tang San's techniques were sacred and inviolable, while others' techniques were worth nothing and could be used at will.

Although neither side made a fuss over the incident, it had created a minor rift, and their relationship was no longer as harmonious as before.

(End of Chapter)

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