The next day.
It was early morning, and the rising sun cast its gentle golden rays through the peach groves of Taoyuan Academy.
From within the academy's classroom, however, the sharp smack, smack, smack of a ruler could be heard, accompanied by a young girl's cries of pain.
"You were a full thirty minutes late. The punishment is thirty smacks on the palm. If you are late again, the punishment will be doubled. Do you understand?" Su Ran said, holding a bamboo ruler, having just struck Ning Rongrong's palm thirty times.
Tears welled up in Ning Rongrong's eyes from the pain. She cradled her reddened, purplish palm, her face full of resentment. "I just overslept a little, and you hit me thirty times! Teacher, you're too cruel! I want to quit! I'm going to Shrek Academy next door!"
This teacher had absolutely no compassion for a lady!
"As expected of a support-type Spirit Master. Your body is still too weak," Su Ran said, shaking his head. He paid no mind to her tantrum; this disciple was in dire need of discipline. "You want to quit and go to Shrek? Fine. But you should think it through carefully."
He walked directly to the front of the classroom and, with a flourish, wrote several large characters on the blackboard, serving as the theme for today's lecture:
[The Core Cultivation of a Support-Type Spirit Master]
Clearly, today's lesson had been prepared specifically for Ning Rongrong. The unspoken question hung in the air: Are you going to listen or not?!
Standing by the side, Wang Sheng astutely tried to persuade her. "Rongrong, a private lesson from the teacher is a rare opportunity. Why don't you listen to what he has to say before you decide to quit?"
Ning Rongrong's face was a mask of grievance. Not even the elders in her own family had ever punished her like this. This Teacher Su Ran had mercilessly struck her thirty times, making her little hand swell up!
"Hmph! I'll listen, but we'll see what he can possibly teach me!" she huffed, glaring at her heartless teacher. She then recalled what Wang Sheng had said the day before—that Teacher Su Ran wore a mask because he was too handsome.
No matter how handsome he is, a man this cruel will never find a girlfriend!
She was determined to see just how handsome this Su Ran really was, and what he could possibly teach her! Otherwise, joining this academy for no reason, learning nothing, not even seeing her teacher's face, and getting her hand smacked would be too great a loss!
With a look of profound injustice, Ning Rongrong took her seat.
Because Wang Sheng was not an official disciple, he simply stood to the side to listen in. The lesson was primarily for Ning Rongrong.
"Show me your Martial Soul," Su Ran said calmly.
Reluctantly, Ning Rongrong extended her small, still-trembling hand. A brilliant light enveloped her, and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda appeared in her palm.
"The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. Hailed as the finest support-type Martial Soul on the continent," Su Ran began.
"Of course," Ning Rongrong said, her pride in her Martial Soul evident.
"A pity. Support-type Martial Souls are far too limited. In many cases, they're no different from a useless Martial Soul."
Su Ran's next sentence wiped the smug look right off her face. A useless pagoda? This is universally acknowledged as the number one support Martial Soul on the entire continent!
"That's not true!" Ning Rongrong pouted.
"Let me ask you, what are you support-type Spirit Masters best at?"
"Buffing and healing. We enhance our teammates' strength or provide sustained support."
"Then let me ask you, what is the weakness of a support-type?"
"A lack of offensive power, of course. We can't fight alone. It's a common problem for all support-type Spirit Masters," Ning Rongrong said with a purse of her lips. "You're not going to say that just because my body is a little weak and I have no offensive power, my Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda is a useless Martial Soul, are you? If so, Teacher, your level of understanding is... average."
Although she had witnessed his power yesterday, she would not stand for him belittling her Martial Soul. The very nature of a support-type was to make teammates stronger, not to be powerful itself. Otherwise, why call it 'support'?
"No," Su Ran said calmly. "What I am saying is that not only the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, but the vast majority of support-type Martial Souls are useless in their early stages. The role they can play in a Spirit Master battle is extremely limited."
Disagreement was written all over Ning Rongrong's face. "If support-types are so useless, then why is there an ironclad rule in Spirit Master duels to 'kill the support-type first'?" she challenged. "A support-type can make the team stronger, even allowing them to fight above their rank. Teacher, don't you even understand that?"
"Yes, a support-type can indeed make their teammates stronger. I am not denying that point," Su Ran said coolly. "However, have you ever considered this: in a Spirit Master duel, the true weakness of a support-type isn't the lack of offensive power, but the burden they become due to their inability to protect themselves."
"In most teams, a support-type Spirit Master requires a defense-type or a power-attack-type Spirit Master to protect them. This means that in a seven-person team, the inclusion of a support-type immediately reduces the team's offensive capability by 2/7."
"Now, let's consider the enhancement a support-type provides. At the initial level of a Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, you can grant a twenty percent boost to strength and speed. You cannot, however, apply this buff to the entire team instantly. Even if we calculate the total increase in the team's strength, it only comes out to 20% × 5/7 ≈ 1/7."
"Only when you become a four-ring Spirit Ancestor and your spirit abilities provide a 40% boost does the equation start to balance out: 40% × 5/7 = 2/7. Only then do you barely offset the burden you place on the team. Only at four rings and above can you provide a tangible net benefit."
"Do you see the problem? In the early stages, the enhancement a support-type provides to a team is less than the advantage gained by simply replacing the support and their protector with two more power-attack, control-type, or agility-type Spirit Masters."
Su Ran calmly wrote out the Spirit Master formulas on the blackboard for Ning Rongrong.
Although she couldn't quite follow the math, she was thoroughly shaken. It was the first time she had ever seen someone use numerical calculations to express the role of a support-type Spirit Master in a team. It was a completely novel concept.
Still, a sense of unease lingered. Any Spirit Master, regardless of their specialization, would feel uncomfortable being told their Martial Soul was actually a burden to their team.
"I won't listen! I don't believe you!" Ning Rongrong's defenses were starting to crumble. "Then why do almost all Spirit Master teams use a support-type?"
"Because the strong get stronger," Su Ran answered with a faint smile. "When a team has a Spirit Master who is significantly more powerful than the others, the value of a support-type's enhancement—or healing—is amplified. My calculations are based on the premise that the Spirit Masters on both teams are of equal strength."
"But you don't need to worry. I have a third formula for you."
"What if," he proposed, "a support-type Spirit Master did not need a teammate for protection and could defend themselves? What would the team's enhancement and reduction be then?"
Standing at the side of the classroom, diligently taking notes, Wang Sheng quickly answered. "In that case, the team's strength would only be reduced by 1/7, while the enhancement would be at least 20% × 6/7 ≈ 1.2/7!"
"And what if the support-type Spirit Master also possessed offensive capabilities?"
"Then the advantage would be even greater."
"Hey! Wait a minute!" Ning Rongrong interjected, her little mind reeling from the massive impact of this new information. "How can a support-type Spirit Master protect themselves? And how could they possibly have offensive power?!"
The teacher, Su Ran, still wearing his immortal dragon mask, stated calmly: "That is the topic of today's lesson: Support-types should add some defense."
"Before this class officially begins, if you still wish to quit, you may leave now. I, Su Ran, do not teach disciples who are insincere, half-hearted, or who might betray me at any moment."
(End of Chapter)