Soul Land 5: The Rebirth of Tang San

Chapter 485: Preparation for the Second Round

"Over here." Tang San quickly waved her over, guiding her to his side.

Seeing him, Mei Gongzi couldn't help but smile.

The Mysterious Circles of Heaven had become a medium that brought them closer. After attempting and practicing it, Mei Gongzi increasingly felt the profoundness of this divine technique. It was not just a technique, in fact, but a way to cultivate spatial abilities; the help it provided her felt almost as significant as her ancestral inheritance.

He had such a precious ability and taught her without reservation, and he even pushed himself to the point of fainting while guiding her. It was impossible not to be moved. Having such a brother was lovely, especially since she had seen through the heavenly secret that he would always be by her side to help her and might even become the ruler of Kali City in the future.

Mei Gongzi came over and stood beside Asura. "Hi... Big Brother."

He immediately beamed. He resisted the urge to hug her. "You didn't stay up too late to cultivate, did you?"

Mei Gongzi shook her head. "No, don't worry. I rested and meditated at midnight, since there was a match today. I spent most of yesterday thinking about the integration with space. Through what you taught me, I realized that since space recognizes me, I should take care of it better, not just use it. This change in perspective is particularly important to me. Although it's only been a day, I feel I've gotten closer to understanding space."

He gave a thumbs-up. "Your gut feeling is right. Keep cultivating in this direction, and you'll gradually grasp the true essence of space."

Mei Gongzi responded with a hum.

She had never been confident about inheriting the position of City Lord of Kali City and the leader of the Peacock clan. After all, she had human blood.

Will the vast Peacock Demon clan acknowledge me even though I have the Golden Crown?

Moreover, Kali City housed other races. The Ancestral Court had the Crystal Phoenix Demon Emperor, who even her father couldn't defeat, and the Ancestral Court coveted Kali City as well.

After glimpsing that heavenly secret, however, she saw the possibility of her dream becoming a reality, giving her more confidence. Learning the Mysterious Circles of Heaven and passing the ancestral inheritance test naturally deepened her confidence. However, she also knew that she needed greater strength to truly control Kali City, and reaching godhood was crucial. Tang San's Mysterious Circles of Heaven gave her a glimpse of the boundary to the god level, showing her a path. This guidance was immensely helpful.

"Big Brother, do you know who your opponent is today?" Mei Gongzi asked softly.

Asura shook his head. "No, I don't. Not that it matters," he said casually, causing Big Cat to turn and look at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Stay humble, stay humble! You might run into a strong opponent again," Big Cat teased him.

In the last round, Asura's opponent was the mighty Golden Mammoth. Winning wouldn't have been easy if it hadn’t been for a clever strategy.

Who will I face in this round? If it's a member of a strong clan, it might not be an easy fight!

He smiled, "No matter who the opponent is, they can't stop me."

His attitude toward everything had changed now that his relationship with Mei Gongzi rapidly progressed. He became more positive and gradually showed a bit of an edge.

Mei Gongzi said, "Then I'll be watching you. Be careful."

She had confidence in Asura. Yesterday's Mysterious Circles of Heaven showed her more of Asura's depth. Just that one move was enough to counter her spatial rift. With such strength, his chances of defeating his opponent were very high.

"Mm." Tang San nodded.

As they spoke, the second round of the Ancestral Court Elite Competition solo matches had begun. The first group of contestants was already entering the stage.

Tang San had Mei Gongzi meditate and rest beside him, maintaining her best condition and told her he would call her when it was his turn to go on stage.

"It's a pity Little Cat isn't a noble. Otherwise, she would be here to compete, too. Seeing you and Mei Gongzi together makes me miss her," Big Cat transmitted to Asura.

Asura rolled his eyes and said, "You two parted ways this morning. You'll see her again after the match. By the way, how's Little Cat's condition?"

Big Cat said, "She's in great shape now. Maybe it's because her bloodline conflict was so severe, but once that problem was resolved, her cultivation advanced rapidly. I think her progress is even faster than mine. Plus, she can now use the repulsion trait of the Lion Tiger Golden Force. I think it won't be long before she reaches the ninth order. Her talent was actually greater than mine when she was young, but the severe bloodline conflict held her back."

"That's good. Now that the bloodline conflict is no longer an issue, things will go better and better. Your Lion-Tiger clan is naturally strong. During your match that day, your bloodline heavily suppressed your opponent’s. In this regard, the pure lion or tiger races simply don’t have this kind of dominance," Asura said.

Big Cat sighed and said, "The benefits only became apparent once the fusion of the two bloodlines and the conflict issue were resolved. It was indeed a qualitative improvement. It's just a pity that so many of our ancestors weren't lucky enough to meet you."

Tang San patted his shoulder and said, "Don't overthink it. If you lead the Lion-Tiger clan to prominence, showing all those who looked down on you your strength and establishing the Lion-Tiger clan at the pinnacle of the Empyrean Dominion, that will be enough to honor your ancestors."

"I will. That's also why I participated this time," Big Cat said, clenching his fists.

Although today's matches were half as many as the first day, they took noticeably more time per match. Those who made it to the second round were all the top contenders from the first round, after all. The frequency of intense clashes increased significantly. After the experience from the first round, everyone became more cautious in their battles.

While strength was critical, performance during the fight was equally crucial. The first round had its share of unexpected upsets. For instance, Tang San's match was seen as an upset for the Golden Mammoth clan and even considered a possibly rigged match.

Tang San didn't rest but continued to watch the matches closely. There was no better opportunity than this tournament to understand the characteristics of the powerful demon and nymph clans.

He also carefully observed which bloodline imprints would be most suitable for him. He set a goal for himself: when he attempted to reach the tenth tier, he needed to have nine first-tier imprints ready. He already had three first-tier imprints and three second-tier imprints, and apart from the slot occupied by Crystalline, he still had a free one.

That little one had been asleep ever since the Hell Garden trip and hadn't woken up. It seemed like a very peaceful sleep.

Last night, Tang San intended to fuse with the Golden Mammoth imprint to enhance his physical strength. But when he prepared to do so, he suddenly realized Crystalline was occupying a slot, which made him abandon the idea. He still needed to save a slot for an imprint he believed would be more beneficial. Although the Golden Mammoth was good, it hadn't moved him enough to take in the imprint without hesitation.

Another option was to break through to the ninth order, gaining an extra imprint slot. He wasn't hurrying to break through, however; the more he accumulated and compressed, the more significant the improvement would be after the breakthrough. He was easily on par with any ninth-order expert in terms of both bloodline and spiritual power, so he would wait until he simply couldn’t hold back anymore.