Furina walked down the corridor back to her room, still pondering the earlier matter.
She wasn't sure how much of what she said had actually sunk in with Xiao Hongchen. In the original story, that guy had been beaten into a Heart Demon by Huo Yuhao, burying himself in a dead end he couldn't get out of.
He was clearly hailed as the number one Genius of the Sun Moon Empire, yet he insisted on competing with Huo Yuhao, determined to defeat him. As a result, he crazily consumed medicine, overdrawing his potential, until his hair even turned white, wasting his perfectly good Talents just like that.
Otherwise, given his Aptitude, becoming a Titled Douluo or even a Super Douluo was not impossible. It was just a pity that he cared too much about that bit of victory or defeat.
No matter which World you are in, Heart Demon is a great taboo; as the saying goes, one's thoughts must be unhindered. On this point, he really should learn from Old Demon Han—run when you need to run, and never get hung up on things.
But this time, even if Huo Yuhao defeated him again, the blow shouldn't be as great as it was originally.
In the original story, Huo Yuhao was only a two-ring Spirit Master, and Wang Dong was only three-ring. Two low-level Spirit Masters joined forces and took down a Genius hailed as a once-in-a-thousand-years talent of the Sun Moon Empire. Who could handle that? Let alone the proud and arrogant Xiao Hongchen.
Things are different now. Huo Yuhao can kill above his rank just by relying on his mental force. His first spirit ring looks like it's ten years, but his second is a thousand years, and his third is ten thousand years. Even if the first one really is ten years, so what? The age of the latter two spirit rings combined is enough to trade for a hundred hundred-year spirit rings.
Plus, with twin spirits and the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, a Vicious Beast Spirit that had never been heard of before—truly one of a kind in the World—it's enough to prove that he is a monster among monsters. Losing to such a person is not shameful. Of course, that's assuming one can keep an open mind.
Furina shook her head, stopped thinking about it, and returned to her room to prepare to Cultivate. The second trial of the Water God requires becoming a Titled Douluo within eight years. Since she isn't participating in the competition, she can take this time to focus on Cultivating and strive to condense her Martial Soul core as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, not long after she entered meditation, a knock on the door sounded.
"Furina, are you there? It's Wang Yan." Teacher Wang Yan's voice came from outside the door.
Furina finished her session and got up to open the door: "I'm here, coming."
Opening the door, Wang Yan was standing at the entrance, holding a stack of documents in his hand, looking like he had just returned from outside.
"Is something the matter, Teacher Wang Yan?" Furina asked, leaning against the doorframe.
Wang Yan pondered for a moment: "I wanted to ask, do you think we need to equip Huo Yuhao and the others with spirit tools? Huo Yuhao and He Caitou have them, but the others don't. I think it's very necessary to prepare some, just in case."
Furina thought to herself that Wang Yan was one of the few normal teachers in Shrek Academy. If his Soul Power level weren't a bit low, and he weren't inclined towards administrative work, he would definitely have achieved even greater things.
In the original story, he encouraged Huo Yuhao and the others to cheat, but that was also unavoidable. Because if something went wrong, he, as the team leader, would have to take full responsibility. Coupled with the great pressure from the academy, in such an environment, even the most normal and honest teacher would have to adapt.
"Of course, no problem." Furina nodded, thought for a moment, and added, "But I think, compared to offensive spirit tools, it would be better to buy more defensive ones and milk bottles for storing Soul Power."
Wang Yan was slightly taken aback.
Furina continued: "We aren't lacking in terms of control, but for defense, we only have Xu Sanshi, and he can't protect everyone. Although He Caitou is of the food system, he prefers using spirit tools to attack, counting as a main damage dealer in the back row, so he doesn't have much energy to keep making food for everyone. In this situation, defensive spirit tools and milk bottles are very important."
There are no battle armors or mechas now. Among offensive spirit tools, the best for long-range are fixed Martial Soul cannons, and for close combat, it's carving knives or those produced by Mingdetang. The Axis Cult itself also has spirit tools modified from firearms, with impressive lethality, but using them too much won't benefit Huo Yuhao and the others' growth.
This competition is meant for Huo Yuhao and the others to grow; we can't put the cart before the horse.
The most typical example is Xu Sanshi. In the original story, it was during this competition that because Jiang Nannan was injured, his emotional outburst broke through a part of his Seal, and he briefly awakened his Black Tortoise Bloodline. This kind of crucial Breakthrough cannot be bought with equipment.
Wang Yan originally wanted to buy more offensive spirit tools, but after hearing what Furina said, he thought for a moment and nodded: "That makes sense. And Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong have a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, so they definitely aren't lacking in terms of offense."
He immediately asked again, "What about tactics? Do you have any other specific arrangements?"
Furina retorted: "Does this need any arrangements? Hiding our strength is the best arrangement. The opponents can't even figure out our Martial Souls, spirit rings, and Martial Soul Abilities, so how can they make targeted preparations?"
Wang Yan was a bit worried: "But as the competition progresses, some Martial Soul Abilities will inevitably be exposed. Everyone will be able to guess some clues to some extent."
Even if you disguise all Martial Soul Abilities as something else, the effects are right there. In the long run, as long as they aren't fools, they will always be able to guess.
Furina admitted that what he said made sense, but in her heart, she didn't really care. What kind of decent tactics could people on the Douluo Continent come up with? Just look at the original story: Spirit Hall had the advantage in the early stages and still lost, and burning grain supplies could be considered a god-tier skill. What could you expect from that level?
Even if Huo Yuhao and the others' abilities were fully revealed now, what targeted strategies could the opposing side come up with? At most, it would just be focusing fire on Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.
"When they do guess it, can't we just openly reveal our cards?" Furina spread her hands, "Then let Yuhao use Simulate to continue disguising other attacks. With real and fake mixed together, they will still suffer."
Her tone was relaxed: "If we really encounter a strong enemy we can't beat, just let Yuhao and Wang Dong use their Martial Soul Fusion Skill. Let's see if the opponent is stronger, or they are."
Wang Yan had witnessed the power of the Golden Road. It was stunning at the New Student Assessment, even injuring Director Du Weilun.
Later, during the Core Disciple assessment, he heard Xiao Xiao and Bei Bei talk about how Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong used the Golden Road to fight against the Lan Luoluo sisters' Heavenly Net, plus the Hell White Tiger of Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu, and finally fought to a draw.
That was when Dai Huabin and the others had buffs from Ning Tian and the others. Now, the two of them have added second and third Martial Soul Fusion Skills; it's hard to imagine how strong they can be.
Furina saw that Wang Yan was still frowning, and her tone softened a bit: "Teacher Wang Yan, you are worrying too much. I know the academy has put some pressure on you, but trust me, and trust Yuhao and the others; this competition will be fine. The top four is absolutely secure."
Wang Yan rubbed his temples and smiled bitterly: "Perhaps I am indeed worrying too much."
He suddenly said again: "Actually, I really want you to participate in the competition. If that happened, maybe the opponents would see you and just surrender without a fight."
Furina laughed: "Haha, that would be boring. If I go to fight, wouldn't that be bullying people? I am the Water God; how could I bully Mortals?"
Wang Yan was stunned, then silently complained in his heart: But during the New Student Assessment, you already bullied others...
"Alright, Teacher Wang Yan, you should rest early." Furina straightened her expression, "The competition officially starts tomorrow; get some good rest, don't let outsiders see Shrek as a joke. Besides, we still need to collect intelligence on other teams."
"Hmm." Wang Yan nodded and turned to leave.
Furina closed the door, sat back on the bed, and continued to Cultivate.
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