area51novel Chapter 183 Meeting the Uncle and Unexpected Gains
Chapter 183 Meeting the Uncle and Unexpected Gains
In about forty minutes, everyone present tried all four types of cigars made by He Caitou and determined which type of cigar worked best for them.
However, Long You's expression was rather strange. The reason he used the adjective "basically" earlier was because someone had messed up, and that mess was with Long You.
Although time constraints prevented me from fully savoring each cigar, the full benefits of cigar use were certainly evident. Long You tried all four types of cigars made by He Caitou, and the feedback was consistently positive.
To be more precise, Long You received a 9% increase. Before trying He Caitou's cigar soul skill, Long You had some reservations. He Caitou's support soul skills were selective about which martial soul they were effective with. His Witness Book martial soul was powerful, but it inherited the common problem of book-type martial souls—it was mixed and lacked depth, in other words, it didn't have a prominent aspect.
This is problematic. He Caitou's cigar soul skill is tailored to the martial soul, and Long You's martial soul doesn't have any outstanding aspects (the most outstanding being the ability to deduce and witness), so it's very likely that he won't get any additional boost.
As it turns out, Long You's inner thoughts were not wrong. After using Cai Tou's four soul skills, Long You received the same increase in power. These thoughts were very likely the spiritual intuition that the Pearl of Imagination brought to Long You.
"This shouldn't be the case! It's understandable that the increase in strength, defense, and soul power isn't that different, but the increase in mental power should be quite significant!"
Regarding Long You's situation, after communicating with the spirit consciousness Cigar, He Caitou was also puzzled, "And why are they all 9%? Even without outstanding amplification, shouldn't they all be the same?"
"My innate soul power level is level nine."
The mental boost from using the invigorating cigar hadn't worn off yet, and Long You was now somewhat able to grasp the reason for his current state. Ever since awakening his level nine innate soul power, Long You had always had a strong affinity for the number nine.
[It's one thing that other aspects can only increase by 9%, but why is the increase for the Spirit Invigorating Cigar also only 9%? My Martial Soul requires mental power when it comes to deduction, witnessing, insight, and analysis. If you really want to calculate it, my Martial Soul can be considered to have a special talent in mental power.]
Wait, the sea of consciousness is in turmoil, the pearl of imagination... could it be...?
Not quite understanding the problem, Long You naturally pondered it several more times. Then, an answer seemed to float through his still gently rippling mind, leading him to notice something unusual.
If that's the case, let's verify it.
"One question: can you still feel the boost from using your first cigar?"
The anomaly that Long You noticed was the duration of the Soul Skill amplification. At least forty minutes had passed since Long You started using the Spirit-Boosting Cigar, yet he could still feel the amplification effect of the Soul Skill.
This is abnormal, this is extremely abnormal. A normal soul skill would never last this long, and a soul skill that could last this long would definitely not be something a food-type soul master could use.
"They're long gone, how could they still be around now? Let alone the first one, even the last one's amplification effect is starting to decline now."
The Pearl of Imagination is definitely the effect of the Pearl of Imagination. The invigorating cigar from Caitou is, at most, just a key. Its function is merely to mobilize the spiritual essence dormant within the Pearl of Imagination; what truly amplifies my abilities are these very spiritual essences.
It seems I have another trump card up my sleeve. Although I can't think of a specific application scenario for this trump card yet, I should probably keep a few thick cigars with me at all times.
Preparing for future use is unnecessary; the amount of spiritual essence accumulated in the Pearl of Imagination is ultimately limited, and there's no need to overuse it unless absolutely necessary.
Xu Sanshi's answer completely confirmed Long You's guess. With the help of his quick thinking buff, Long You quickly sorted out his thoughts.
"Why not? I can still feel the amplifying effect from that first invigorating cigar."
Having broken free from the grip of depression, Long You's lips curled back into his usual smile.
Well, it's more accurate to say that Long You broke free from his depressed mood on his own, rather than that the depressed mood was transferred from Long You to the other people present.
Seeing his teachers, senior students, and teammates all saying it was impossible, Long You wore a mysterious smile and remained silent.
In truth, there was no way to say anything. Long You didn't plan to tell anyone about the Pearl of Imagination. This kind of thing couldn't be explained, and even if he did, no one else could use it. It was better for everyone to simply treat him as a genius.
Now that the discussion has progressed to this point, it's time to get back on track, as the topic had been veered off course by He Caitou's martial spirit and soul skills.
"Regarding tactics, neither Mr. Fanyu nor I are particularly skilled. Tonight, a new teacher from the academy will be in charge of the tactical arrangements. Now, let me introduce the round-robin tournament."
After discussing the types and quantities of cigars with He Caitou, Zhang Lexuan immediately began to explain in detail the format of the round-robin stage of the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament.
"The round-robin stage consists of group matches. Considering there are a total of 67 teams, there will be three groups with nine teams each. However, based on your performance in the knockout stage, the group Shrek Academy is in will definitely be a group with only eight teams."
Okay, let's talk about the competition modes. Just like we introduced to you before the start of the competition, this round-robin tournament will have three battle modes: team battle, one-on-one, and a battle mode called 2-2-3.
Team battles are straightforward. One point needs emphasizing in one-on-one battles: it's not about one person going in for the entire match and then leaving. Only the loser is eliminated. The winner automatically becomes the reigning champion and faces the challenge of the next member of their opponent's team.
In the one-on-one battle mode, the side whose seven members are eliminated first loses the match. Personally, I think the best order for these battles is to be decided on-site by Xiao You after analyzing the opponent's strength and condition.
The battle mode I want to focus on is the 2-on-2-3 battle. '2-on-2' refers to two 2-on-2 battles. If you win both of these 2-on-2 battles, then there is no need to fight the third 3-on-3 battle.
My plan is to pair Beibei with Sanshi, Longyou with Caitou, and Xiaoya with Yuhao and Luochen. I believe that having at least one Soul King in each group during the round-robin stage will be enough to guarantee our victory.
Zhang Lexuan's personnel arrangements for the two-on-two and three-on-three battles were flawless. It can be said that Zhang Lexuan's arrangements were the strongest lineup under the constraint of the current number of people that Shrek Academy could field.
Although there is still Dai Yueheng, the most cost-effective way to deal with such a super combat power is to keep him hidden as a trump card. Only when the opponent is unaware of Dai Yueheng's strength can Dai Yueheng inflict maximum damage on the opponent.
"If there are no major changes, this will be our arrangement for the round-robin stage. Do you have any further questions?"
After giving Long You and the others a little time to think, Fan Yu prepared to end the rather long meeting.
After a brief silence, realizing they couldn't come up with a better solution, the meeting ended, and everyone went back to their rooms.
Well, on the surface, everyone went back to their own rooms. It's been several days since we arrived in Xingluo City, and apart from one elimination round, no other matches have taken place. Long You wouldn't waste this rare free time.
After creating five upgraded versions of the little bees (wasp-type soul-guided unmanned reconnaissance drones) in the soul-guided laboratory hidden in the luxury sphere, Long You had already used the little bees' detection capabilities to search and observe the main residence of the Long family in Star Luo City from top to bottom.
How should I put it? On the surface, the main house of the Long family seems unchanged, but in the past ten years or so, many subtle changes have actually taken place.
After careful observation, Long You concluded that the biggest change in the Long family now is reflected in the people themselves.
This "person" includes both individuals and numbers. Before Long You left, the place where the Long family members were most active was the central courtyard of the Long family's main residence. That was a complex of buildings built around the Long family ancestral hall.
The vast majority of members of the Long family's patriarchal faction lived in this central courtyard. In short, the central courtyard of the Long family's main residence was the living and activity area for the patriarchal faction. When Long You was young, this central courtyard was always bustling with people.
However, the number of people frequently seen at the Intermediate People's Court has decreased significantly. Many familiar faces that Long You knew from his childhood are nowhere to be seen this time. Not only are the people nowhere to be seen, but the rooms where those familiar faces used to live are also in a dilapidated state, clearly indicating that no one has cleaned or maintained them for some time.
Long You didn't know whether these people had met with an accident or had quietly left the Long family under the cover of his uncle, but Long You knew that the members of the family head's side living in the main Long family residence were not having a good time.
The main residence of the Long family was a large courtyard with a large number of soul-guided streetlights. Long You clearly remembered that before nightfall, these soul-guided streetlights would be turned on, making the entire main residence as bright as day. Many people would take advantage of the quiet of the night to leave their homes for a stroll and chat.
However, after observing for the past two days, Long You noticed that none of the people who used to go out and chat at night in the main residence of the Long family had returned. Even during the day, the entire central courtyard seemed somewhat deserted, with everyone walking around either hurrying along or displaying expressions of worry and dejection.
In stark contrast to the situation in the central courtyard, the bustling and lively soul tool laboratory in the backyard of the Long family's main residence, compared to the cold and desolate atmosphere of the central courtyard, left Long You somewhat speechless.
Long You did not see the Third Elder in the backyard area, but through the little bee's investigation, he found many early warning soul tools that were extremely rare in the original Douluo Continent Three Kingdoms, as well as various types of soul tools unique to the Sun Moon Empire.
To be honest, Long You didn't quite understand why the Long family had developed into what it was now.
Everyone clearly noticed something was wrong with the Third Elder a long time ago. Everyone knew it was the Sun Moon Empire and the Holy Spirit Cult that were infiltrating. Why couldn't Uncle and Grandfather simply and cleanly eliminate these infiltrators and traitors and restore the Long family to normal?
Even if the Holy Spirit Cult is very powerful, those sent to the Star Luo Empire on missions are essentially people the Holy Spirit Cult tacitly approves of sacrificing. With Old Master Long's current Title Douluo strength, why doesn't he dare to take action?
As long as we take action, the current chaos in the Long family can be resolved quickly. At that time, the Long family may not reach a higher level, but at least it will return to normal. This situation of "two extremes" will definitely not occur again.
Most importantly, Long You couldn't understand why the Third Elder dared to openly install a large number of "Sun Moon Empire" soul tools. The Long family's main residence was inside the Star Luo Inner City; did they really think the Star Luo royal family was blind?
With this doubt in mind, and coupled with the fact that he had missed his uncle after so many years apart, Long You sent a message to his uncle last night via a bee to arrange a meeting. This noon, the uncle and nephew will meet at a restaurant called Jiuchuan Food Court in Xingluo Outer City.
After strolling away from the delivery room, Long You glanced towards the other end of the corridor, sensing something amiss.
[Laughing at the world! What's going on? Shouldn't this be the time for Huo Yuhao, the chosen one, to encounter this? How did it happen to me?]
With strange thoughts swirling in his mind, Long You's expression remained unchanged, and the slight upturn of his lips gave him a lazy air.
Long You's eyes darted around, and the smile on his lips widened as he headed towards the stairs as planned. Although Xiao Hongchen was from the Sun Moon Empire, he was a proud man and wouldn't be idly following Long You, so Long You didn't need to worry about his plans to see his uncle being exposed to Xiao Hongchen.
"Hey! Shrek Academy guy, are you the captain of the reserve team? What's your name?"
Just as Long You was about to step onto the stairs, Xiao Hongchen, who had been staring at Long You, spoke up. His tone was arrogant and unpleasant, but Long You didn't seem to mind at all.
Whether one is arrogant or not is a personal choice, and Long You doesn't care. What Long You cares about now is intelligence. If Xiao Hongchen isn't faking it, then his asking such a question is enough to prove that the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy has absolutely insufficient intelligence on Shrek Academy.