Douluo : Diary System in Douluo Continent

The moment Yu Xiaogang called out to stop, Ma Hongjun and Oscar descended steadily from the sky. Ma Hongjun smugly wiped his nose and taunted, "How about it, Boss Dai? You lost this time, didn't you?"

Dai Mubai retorted indignantly, "Master, I haven't lost yet!"

Yu Xiaogang shook his head in disapproval and criticized, "No, you've already lost. You knew Oscar's third spirit skill grants flight, yet you failed to immediately prevent him from creating sausages and quickly closing the gap. This is a result of your overconfidence!"

"You thought that, with your power at Rank 35, dealing with a Rank 26 Spirit Grandmaster would be easy, even with Oscar's support. Am I wrong?"

Dai Mubai had no choice but to admit defeat, pursing his lips in frustration. After all, Yu Xiaogang's words were true.

Meanwhile, Ma Hongjun and Oscar chuckled on the sidelines.

However, Yu Xiaogang didn't let them off the hook either. Turning to them, he said, "Don't think you two are flawless. Ma Hongjun, your biggest problem now is your low spirit power. Your Phoenix Spirit is highly explosive—its burst potential even surpasses Dai Mubai's White Tiger Spirit—but it consumes a tremendous amount of energy. So, you must focus on raising your spirit power as quickly as possible!"

"And Oscar, you need to speed up your sausage production. Your Flying Mushroom Sausage only lasts for one minute when consumed by others and just half a minute when consumed by yourself. If the enemy anticipates this, your sausages become practically useless!"

Faced with Yu Xiaogang's stern critique, both of them immediately deflated. Winning only to be criticized felt particularly frustrating. Ma Hongjun muttered internally, Since when does low spirit power count as a flaw revealed during battle?

Oscar, pale-faced from exhaustion, nodded reluctantly. The earlier battle had drained much of his spirit power. With his current abilities, he could only create a little over a dozen Mushroom Sausages in one go. Though he was already fast at producing them, their short duration was undeniably a limitation, one he had no solution for.

Yu Xiaogang felt confident that by pointing out their flaws so directly, he had asserted his authority. Although his expression remained stern, he felt quite pleased with himself internally.

The second round of matches proceeded as in the original story, with Tang San facing off against Dai Mubai.

However, due to Su Ming's presence, this was their first-ever duel. Dai Mubai thought to himself that while Tang San's Blue Silver Grass was somewhat decent in terms of control, it paled in comparison to Su Ming's. Thus, he didn't take Tang San seriously.

After all, unless Tang San revealed his second spirit, he couldn't possibly defeat him with just his Blue Silver Grass!

Tang San, on the other hand, was well aware of Dai Mubai's mindset and intentions. He resolved to use this match to prove the strength of his control abilities with Blue Silver Grass.

If he only used his first two spirit skills, defeating a Rank 35 Spirit Elder like Dai Mubai would be impossible. But Tang San was now at Rank 30 himself, with his third spirit ring derived from the Man-Faced Demon Spider. He was very confident in his third spirit skill.

Soon, the match between Tang San and Dai Mubai concluded, with Tang San emerging as the victor, as Su Ming had expected.

Had Dai Mubai not underestimated his opponent, he might have stood a better chance. If he had activated his third spirit skill, White Tiger Vajra Transformation, at the start and rushed Tang San, he could have avoided defeat, or at least put up a closer fight.

In Dai Mubai's eyes, Tang San's Blue Silver Grass seemed too fragile and lacked sufficient control. If not for Tang San's extraordinary agility from Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, Dai Mubai might have secured a win once he closed the distance.

Alas, the locals could never match the "cheat characters." Of course, Su Ming considered himself the ultimate cheat, far above the rest.

Defeated, Dai Mubai wore an expression of deep frustration. Back at the academy, he had rarely tasted defeat, but ever since the new students arrived, he felt like he was either losing or on the verge of it. It was infuriating!

Yu Xiaogang, noticing Dai Mubai's issues, adopted a serious tone and reprimanded him, "Dai Mubai, the mistakes you made in this fight are even worse than the ones in your first match!"

"As a Power Attack System Spirit Master, you should know that Control System Spirit Masters naturally counter your type. Yet you underestimated Tang San because of his Blue Silver Grass. By failing to close the distance immediately, you handed him the advantage."

"Under normal circumstances, Control System Spirit Masters are virtually unbeatable in battles of the same level. Their attack power may be lacking, but a single lapse in attention can lead to defeat if they manage to immobilize you even briefly. Do you understand?"

Despite his resentment, Dai Mubai could only swallow his frustration and nod.

Internally, he comforted himself, thinking, No problem, Dai Mubai. Tang San is a twin spirit wielder, with the Clear Sky Hammer as his second spirit. His father is the renowned Clear Sky Douluo. For now, you must stay on Tang San's good side while he's still unaware of his identity.

Let Tang San help you win the royal tournament. Even if you lose in the end, the royal family won't dare act rashly, considering Tang Hao and Tang San's influence. Befriending Tang San can only benefit you!

This line of reasoning successfully eased Dai Mubai's frustration. So what if I lost? Tang San and I are brothers now, and I'm still the "Boss Dai" of the academy. That's all that matters.

After finishing his critique of Dai Mubai, Yu Xiaogang turned to Tang San and said, "Well done, Xiao San. You're starting to grasp the essence of a Control System Spirit Master. Your third spirit skill, Spider Web Restraint, is excellent."

"A Spirit Master caught in this skill would struggle to break free, unless they're significantly stronger than you. With the web's toughness and its poison, you can immobilize opponents long enough for your teammates to launch their attacks."

Tang San was delighted by his teacher's praise. He, too, believed his third spirit skill to be highly effective.

Yu Xiaogang's praise for Tang San wasn't only because Tang San hadn't made any mistakes. He also wanted to build up Tang San's reputation. After all, it wasn't hard to guess that since joining this academy, Tang San must have been overshadowed by Su Ming and Xiao Wu, much like he had been in the previous academy.

Previously, Yu Xiaogang didn't interfere because Notting Academy wasn't anything special—talented soul masters were virtually nonexistent. However, Shrek Academy was different. These students were exceptionally gifted, and many of them came from powerful backgrounds. Having Tang San build good relationships with them would only bring benefits.

Su Ming inwardly scoffed at Yu Xiaogang's actions. During these two matchups, Yu Xiaogang only praised Tang San while criticizing and suppressing everyone else, regardless of whether they won or lost. This way, he not only asserted his authority but also elevated Tang San's standing.

However, Su Ming wasn't too bothered. In the upcoming matchups, if he or Xiao Wu were to go against Tang San, he planned to teach him a lesson by beating him half to death. Let's see how Yu Xiaogang would evaluate Tang San under the scrutiny of everyone then. Surely, Yu Xiaogang couldn't afford to show favoritism in public?

For the third round of matchups, Yu Xiaogang already had a plan in mind. Turning to Su Ming with a smile, he said, "Su Ming, I have a good understanding of your strength. For the group matches, you don't need to participate. It would be too unfair for the others, don't you think?"

Su Ming shrugged indifferently. "Fine. If I don't participate, I don't participate. Xiao Wu is still here anyway. Let's see if you have the guts to face her."

Yu Xiaogang ignored Su Ming's attitude. His reasoning seemed logical—these matches weren't just about assessing the students' strengths but also about boosting Tang San's status. How could he allow Su Ming to ruin that?

As for the third matchup, the participants were obvious. Dai Mubai had already fought twice, Ma Hongjun wasn't in any condition for a second match, and Oscar's soul power was almost depleted. That left Tang San, Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing.

With that in mind, Yu Xiaogang slowly announced, "The final matchup will be Tang San, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing against Xiao Wu."

His words left everyone stunned, including Zhao Wuji and Flender. Wasn't a three-on-one too unfair to Xiao Wu?

Flender hesitated before voicing his concern. "Xiaogang, isn't this arrangement a bit inappropriate?"

Ignoring Flender, Yu Xiaogang looked around at the group, noticing their doubts. With a serious expression, he explained, "Don't assume this is unfair to Xiao Wu. She is already at Rank 42, and her fourth soul ring was absorbed by surpassing its limit. Her soul skill must be extraordinary. Right, Xiao Wu? Can you tell us about your fourth soul skill in advance?"

Xiao Wu frowned at his question and glanced toward Su Ming. Seeing this, Su Ming stepped forward and said coldly, "Master, isn't it inappropriate to ask her that? We're in the middle of group matchups. Forcing Xiao Wu to fight one against three is already unreasonable, and now you're asking her to reveal her fourth soul skill? Why didn't you have Tang San disclose his third soul skill earlier? If he had, perhaps Dai Mubai wouldn't have lost!"

"This..."

Yu Xiaogang was momentarily at a loss for words. He hadn't expected Su Ming's sharp rebuttal. Originally, he wanted to know Xiao Wu's fourth soul skill out of curiosity, but also to give Tang San an advantage. Clearly, his plan had backfired.

Seeing Yu Xiaogang flustered made Su Ming feel deeply satisfied. Even if Xiao Wu's soul skill were revealed, so what? Her current skill was practically unbeatable unless the opponent possessed divine-level strength. In Su Ming's eyes, Xiao Wu was nearly invincible in defense right now.

At that moment, Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing exchanged glances before both said, "Master, can you explain the reasoning behind this arrangement? Otherwise, we refuse to participate."

Yu Xiaogang hadn't expected such resistance. The real reason, of course, was that Ning Rongrong was the heir to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, and Zhu Zhuqing hailed from the prominent Zhu family of Star Luo. Their backgrounds were powerful, so pairing them with Tang San was his way of fostering bonds.

However, he couldn't openly admit that. Instead, he replied, "It's because Xiao Wu is already a Soul Ancestor, and the gap between a Soul Ancestor and Soul Elders is significant. Even with Ning Rongrong's support, Tang San and Zhu Zhuqing's combined strength only barely reaches that of a Soul Ancestor. Furthermore, Xiao Wu's third soul skill includes teleportation. So, I believe this arrangement is perfectly fair. Any other questions?"

Su Ming wasn't concerned about Yu Xiaogang's plan. He was confident in Xiao Wu's abilities. As long as her Invincible Golden Body remained unused, not even he could deal with her, let alone Tang San or Zhu Zhuqing.

Wait... something seemed off.

He recalled that Zhu Zhuqing's third soul skill, Nether Slash, seemed to have both a bleeding effect and a defense-piercing effect. Could it bypass Xiao Wu's Invincible Golden Body?

Turning to Xiao Wu, Su Ming whispered, "Xiao Wu, I trust your strength. A three-on-one is no problem for you. But I think Master arranged this match mostly for Tang San's benefit. So, focus on attacking Tang San. He's been getting too cocky since absorbing his third soul ring. Give him a good Eight Stage Throw."

Excited, Xiao Wu nodded. Su Ming always had the best ideas. Besides, she'd been annoyed with Tang San's strange looks since he absorbed his third soul ring.

It's a match, after all, and injuries were inevitable. With Flender and Zhao Wuji present, if anyone got hurt, it would only reflect on their incompetence—not her fault, hehe!

As Xiao Wu was scheming, Su Ming added, "Oh, and watch out for Zhu Zhuqing's third soul skill. I suspect it might negate your Invincible Golden Body."

Xiao Wu gasped but quickly regained her confidence. "Don't worry, brother. Even if that's the case, I still have teleportation. Zhu Zhuqing is fast, but I'm no slouch either!"

In truth, Su Ming had guessed right. Zhu Zhuqing's soul skills did have a defense-piercing effect—but it wasn't just limited to her third skill. Every one of her soul skills had that feature.

Thanks to Su Ming's reminder, Xiao Wu decided to be cautious. A quick resolution was best. This time, her primary goal was clear: to thoroughly crush Tang San.