Wu Ming was initially astonished as she listened to Wang Yan’s analysis, but this quickly transformed into admiration and respect. She had felt that it wasn’t worth it when Han Ruoruo walked away with Wang Yan that day. Wang Yan was a teacher, but he only had six rings, and he was more than forty years old. It was hard to say whether he could become a Titled Douluo in his lifetime. In contrast, Han Ruoruo had already become a powerful Soul Douluo at the age of a little more than thirty, so she was bound to become a Titled Douluo in the future. There was an immense distance between their power and potential.
But she had to admit that Wang Yan’s observation skills, his perception of people, and his ability to judge abilities were exceptional as she continued listening to his analysis. He was almost able to describe her exact mentality and thoughts.
Wang Yan turned towards Shrek’s Seven Monsters after he was done with the three of them. “You guys did alright just now, and your teamwork was a lot better in comparison. However, there were many problems as well. Bei Bei, Sanshi, have you guys tried your best?”
Bei Bei exchanged a look with Xu Sanshi. Wang Yan hadn’t given them pointers in a long time, and he hit the right note in his first statement.
Wu Ming’s eyes widened, and she exclaimed, “Ah, you guys dared to hold back in a practice battle against us?”
Bei Bei pulled a long face and replied, “How can we hold anything back, teacher Wang? Aren’t you clear about our abilities?”
Wang Yan smiled and said, “You are also clear about whether you held back or not. Let’s not talk about the fact that your martial souls can mutate, the things you two did on the battlefield were far from the level that your abilities can normally achieve. The two of you have the most experience, and have the highest cultivation amongst the seven of you. Your element might not be as strong as Yuhao’s, but the chemistry between the two of you is comparable to that between Yuhao and Wang Dong’er. Sanshi used the Mysterious Underworld Displacement during the previous battle, but what about you, Bei Bei? You were treading water from beginning to end. If I’m not wrong, Sanshi had the ability to break free when he was entangled. Even though your cultivation is a world apart from Ruoruo’s, you shouldn’t have lost so easily. I’m fairly certain that you have other moves you didn’t use.”
“Uh…”
Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei were chided until they could only exchange foolish looks with one another. They really had to respect and admire Wang Yan!
Wang Yan smiled and said, “Let me guess what you guys were thinking. I believe you guys wanted to see how everyone has improved, and how their chemistry is like. Not giving your all is also reasonable, as this is a practice combat, after all. I can understand that there are some abilities that are difficult to control once you guys use them, right?”
“You’re way too perceptive, teacher Wang,” Xu Sanshi spoke sincerely.
Wang Yan laughed and replied, “I can only see clearer than most. I’m not sure why the two of you decided to tread water, but you guys didn’t put in as much effort as Yuhao did in terms of cooperating with the team.
“It’s your turn, Xiao Xiao. Your performance wasn’t good except for the moment when you blocked Wu Ming’s attack by displaying impressive controlling capabilities. Your cooperation with the rest was the most insufficient of the entire team. It’s clear that you felt like there was nothing much to do during the later parts of the battle, and you hadn’t completely integrated into the group, so you didn’t unleash your abilities properly. Therefore, the seven of you practicing together is the right thing to do.”
“Yes, teacher Wang.” Xiao Xiao responded with a red tinge in her cheeks. She had toiled in her cultivation over the years, and she had learned so much from Elder Xuan. But during last season’s big competition, her abilities weren’t strong enough and so she didn’t have much chemistry or teamwork with her team in the first place. And over the past few years, she had been focusing on increasing her own strength. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao was their main control-type soul master, and he wasn’t familiar with her abilities either, so Xiao Xiao was a lot more ineffective with Huo Yuhao at the helm.
Wang Yan turned towards He Caitou with a faint smile. “Caitou, both you and Nannan have given me the most pleasant of surprises. It’s clear that you have achieved great success with soul tools, and I am certain that you have other even more powerful abilities, but you didn’t channel all your energy for safety reasons.”
Han Ruoruo chimed in and said, “Yes, he made me feel very threatened. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have used Golden Skysurge directly after using my Dazzling Golden True Body.”
He Caitou smiled sheepishly, but didn’t say anything.
Wang Yan then turned towards Jiang Nannan. “Nannan, your abilities are becoming a lot more mature. Even though you’re not a Soul Emperor yet, you are no longer just an agility-type soul master on the battlefield, you are also accomplishing certain controlling functions and capabilities. The person who had the best performance was actually you, and not Yuhao. The reason is because everyone has a different role in a team, and you fulfilled your role exceptionally well.”
Jiang Nannan flashed a faint smile, and her enchanting beauty made Xu Sanshi exclaim out loud…
Wang Yan finally looked at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’er, but he heaved a faint sigh instead of anything else.
Huo Yuhao said, “You can speak easy, teacher Wang. I can take it. I know my performance wasn’t good just now.”
Wang Yan shook his head and smiled. “I’m not sighing because your performance wasn’t good, I’m sighing because I’m full of awe and admiration.
“Your abilities are just too incredible. I never thought that you would improve to such a level after five years. Even though your performance did have its blemishes, it can be considered quite excellent on the whole. There are a few issues you have to pay attention to. If I’m not wrong, your Domain will also affect your teammates, and the most you can do is prevent them from being injured inside, but it will greatly restrict them and their ability to use their own skills. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have used that Domain so late in the battle, correct?”
Huo Yuhao nodded. Niu Tian told him back then that his Domain was good, but it had an all-around impact, and that extreme chill would affect everything within the domain. He could protect the people inside, but the people under his protection would be restricted to some extent, and they wouldn’t be able to exercise their own abilities.
Wang Yan continued, “I’ve considered that you guys haven’t worked together for a long time, and everyone isn’t that familiar with each other’s soul skills yet, so your performance can still be considered good. This was especially true when you attempted to suppress Ruoruo in the beginning, and you proved the advantage of having spiritual control. You were also holding back, because I vaguely remember that you have a third eye…”
Wang Yan turned to Wang Dong’er afterwards and said, “Dong’er, I want to remind you that you are ranked number three in terms of cultivation amongst the entire team. You’re a Soul Emperor, and even though you have the advantage of a martial soul fusion with Huo Yuhao, you’re not his appendage. During the practice combat, you didn’t really use your own abilities at all besides providing support for Huo Yuhao. You also have twin martial souls, and I’m absolutely certain that your six soul skills are not useless. Furthermore, you still have your soul bones, and their attached abilities. You should have been able to accomplish much more. Perhaps you wish to assist Yuhao, but please don’t attach yourself to him.”
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’er smiled at each other as they listened to Wang Yan’s comments. Wang Dong’er giggled and said, “You’ve finally said something wrong, teacher Wang. That is hard to come by indeed.”
“Eh?” Wang Yan was slightly taken aback, but he quickly understood what was going on. There was a look of revelation on his face as he said, “I understand now. You guys were doing all that on purpose? Is Wang Dong’er supposed to come out only for killer moves and final blows?”
Wang Dong’er giggled once more, but didn’t say anything else.
Han Ruoruo, Wu Ming, and Chu Qingtian felt even more incredulous as they listened to Wang Yan’s analysis. These Shrek’s Seven Monsters had already shaken them up during the previous sparring session… and yet, they hadn’t given everything they had. What level would they reach if they were allowed to exercise all their abilities properly?
Wang Yan said, “Alright, you guys can continue to practice. I trust that you guys can do better. Ruoruo, Wu Ming, Qingtian, let’s give the place over to them. We’ve been here for quite a while.”
“Okay.” Han Ruoruo nodded agreement. Wu Ming and Chu Qingtian didn’t object either, and they bid their farewells to Shrek’s Seven Monsters before they departed the Sparring Arena.
They hadn’t walked too far when Han Ruouruo whispered to Wang Yan, “You said they were all holding back. If they had better teamwork and could exercise all their abilities properly, would they be able to defeat me?”
Wang Yan laughed and stole a glimpse at her. “It’s not like you to lack self-confidence! They will probably need another five years to defeat you. At the very least, most of them have to have their martial soul true bodies before they can accomplish that feat. Defeating you is not possible at the moment. I did point out that they were holding back, but they were also holding back because you were simply too powerful, and you suppressed them to the point where they couldn’t really exercise their strengths. The gap between your cultivations is simply too great.
“Everything I said before was mainly to give them more confidence.”
Wu Ming slid in from the side and said, “Teacher Wang, why didn’t you ask Huo Yuhao about that palm of his? I still don’t understand it even now.”
Wang Yan smiled and replied, “That palm is extremely sophisticated. When he reached out with that palm, I could feel that even time itself seemed freeze. He was even able to dispel your martial soul true body… what level of power is that? That means he must be heavily restricted by something. If I’m not wrong, distance is one of the things restricting him, and that palm of his can only take effect within a certain distance. You have to flex your own strengths if you wish to fight against him, and you will be able to use your martial soul true body to the best of its ability if you use your Golden Crow Primordial Fire at long range. With Huo Yuhao’s current cultivation, I don’t think he can beat you yet if it’s one-on-one.”
Han Ruoruo thought of something and said, “One-on-one? What if it’s two-versus-one? If Wang Dong’er is added to the mix…”
Wang Yan shook his head and said, “That, I don’t know. All I can tell you is that during the last Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, one of them only had three rings, while the other was only had two, and they still managed to unleash four martial soul fusion skills during their final battle.”