Chapter 158 - Tang Sect

Tang Wulin rejoiced that he had the Thousand Refined Cloud Titanium vest to protect his body. He also realised that the strength of the girl’s attack lessened as her soul power ran out. A single glance at her martial souls made it clear that she wasn’t a Power System Soul Master, but rather a Control System Soul Master. It was shocking, however, that a Control System Soul Master was able to display such attack power. If I hadn’t shattered her cauldron, would I have been able to endure?

Tang Wulin crawled up from the ground. The girl had already disappeared, but he was still in the same space as before.

It’s already been two trials. Is it possible that the test isn’t finished yet? Tang Wulin harbored this suspicion in his heart.

“Advanced test, first trial. Get ready.” Advanced? It's been upgraded to advanced now?

A figure appeared with a flash of light. Surprisingly, it was the same girl as before. This time, she appeared to be slightly older. Tang Wulin felt aggrieved as he saw two soul rings rise from her feet. He knew just what he was in for now.

☀

Tang Wulin stumbled out of a flash of light, his face green and purple from bruises. He truly made for a sorry sight.

When he looked up, he saw Xie Xie standing relatively close, his appearance even more haphazard than his own. Xie Xie’s complexion was truly unsightly.

“How many trials did you pass?” Tang Wulin asked him thoughtlessly.

Xie Xie’s face darkened. “One trial. This test is too hard, my opponent was way too powerful! There wasn’t anything I could do against her. She surpassed me in both explosive power and speed, and even in close combat ability! I was helpless to defend against her even with my twin martial souls.”

“What about Gu Yue? She still hasn’t come out?” Tang Wulin asked.

Xie Xie nodded. “In the end, she’s the strongest! How many trials did you pass?”

A bitter laugh escaped Tang Wulin’s lips. “Just two trials. I passed the second trial only because I’m good at taking a beating.”

From when they had entered until now, Wu Zhangkong hadn’t moved an inch from his previous position. The screens here were different from those of the spirit ascension platform; they didn’t show everything that had occurred within the test, so all he could do was wait patiently.

Another minute passed before a pale-faced Gu Yue stumbled out of a flash of light. Tang Wulin, who just happened to be standing right in front of her, saw shock in her eyes.

“How many trials did you pass?” Xie Xie asked.

“Advanced, two trials. The final level was too hard, And I was defeated in the first trial. What about you guys?”

Tang Wulin and Xie Xie stood there, utterly speechless. They truly felt that comparing themselves to others could only lead to madness!

Wu Zhangkong turned towards the trio and nodded. “Come here.”

The trio approached before him. Having the worst results, Xie Xie hung his head low, his heart filled with self-deprecation.

As these thoughts surged in his mind, a bright light flashed, and the trio disappeared in a spatial wave.

With another light flash, they found themselves in an expansive office. It was at least 200 square meters in area. Off to one side, there was a large office desk and a white sofa across from it.

“Take a seat. There are a few matters I need to discuss with you three,” Wu Zhangkong said as he pointed to the sofa.

Confused, the three sat on the sofa nonetheless.

Wu Zhangkong took a seat across from them.

“Each of you must have felt that today’s test was strange. You all had different opponents who, at some point in time, were all Soul Masters that had lived on this continent. Unfortunately, only seventy percent of their true strength can be replicated by the simulation. How did you compare to your opponents?”

They were real Soul Masters?

Tang Wulin immediately recalled that girl with twin souls, while Xie Xie recalled the tall and beautiful girl whose waist seemed as flexible as a bow.

As for Gu Yue, she recalled the black-haired youth whose eyes twinkled with a bizarre splendor. He had easily defeated her in the ultimate level trial. She shuddered at the memory of their battle.

“I brought you all here for two reasons. First, you are nearing the limits of how much spirit energy you can absorb in the spirit ascension platform. After entering a few more times, you’ll reach that limit, so you need another place to gain real combat experience. Compared to the spirit ascension platform, the Hall of Heroes can provide even better combat experiences as the injuries you receive in there are all real. Of course, you’ll automatically be ejected when you’re injured to a certain degree. There also won’t be any mental rebounds like you received in the spirit ascension platform when you had your bodies destroyed. In other words, the experience you gain in the Hall of Heroes is even more valuable than in the spirit ascension platform.

“Second, this test is actually unrelated to your final exam. Your final exam had already ended in the rebellion spirit ascension platform and your scores have already been given. The test here is instead an entrance test to an organization. If you become a member of this organization, you’ll be able to accumulate points in the future to use the Hall of Heroes again.”

Organization? This word, coupled with the memory of his opponent’s footwork from earlier, made Tang Wulin realize immediately that this was the organization that Wu Zhangkong had told him about before. The very organization he had originally refused to join.

Xie Xie and Gu Yue stared at Wu Zhangkong with curiosity while thinking, So Teacher Wu is actually part of some organization.

“Teacher Wu, what does this organization do?” Xie Xie asked. He was from a large clan, so he couldn’t casually join any organization; the fact that this organization was able to have a base here in Eastsea City’s technology park, however, meant that its background should be nothing to laugh at.

Wu Zhangkong asked, “Have you heard of the Tang Sect?”

Tang Sect?

Hearing these two words, the trio began to tremble with excitement.

The Tang Sect? It’s the Tang Sect!

How could they not have heard of it before? There was practically no one in this world who didn’t know of the Tang Sect! Legend had it that the Tang Sect had existed from the ancient era until now. It could be said that the greatest historical events of the Douluo Continent all involved the Tang Sect in one way or another.

The Tang Sect’s founder was the guardian of the continent 20,000 years ago. It was rumored that he had ascended to godhood!

With the Tang Sect’s founder leading the first generation of Shrek’s Seven Monsters, Shrek Academy had also risen to power in that era. It could be said that without him, Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect would not have become such legendary existences.

At that time, the Martial Soul Hall had been ambitious in its attempts to conquer the entire continent and unite it under one banner. Against them, the Tang Sect founder assembled the forces of nations and Soul Masters to fight with the Martial Soul Hall in a final, decisive battle. In the end, he stood on the side of victory.

It was said that while wielding the Sea God’s Trident, he had ascended as the Sea God.

Tang Wulin had always loved to listen to the Tang Sect founder’s story because he also possessed the Bluesilver Grass martial soul!

It was possible for someone on the continent to not know of the Spirit Pagoda, but it was impossible for them to not know of the Tang Sect.

As time went on, the Tang Sect had nearly withered away due to the advancement of soul device technology, when suddenly, another legendary figure appeared out of nowhere. That was right, he was the founder of the Spirit Pagoda, as well as the creator of spirit souls. His mark on history had completely altered the structure of the world of Soul Masters to this very day.

After the Tang Sect’s resurgence into power, they had never declined again. Though, it was rumored that, along with the Star Luo Empire and the Heaven Dou Empire, they had long relocated to the two other continents. In the last thousand years or so, they were rarely spoken of, but their legend had never been forgotten.

The trio was truly shocked at the utterance of the two words that represented such a legendary organization. Could it be that we’re in the Tang Sect right now?

“Teacher Wu, didn’t the Tang Sect already disappear? Or move to the other two continents?” Tang Wulin blurted out in disbelief.

Wu Zhangkong shook his head. “No, the Tang Sect never truly disappeared. While it’s true that the Tang Sect has founded bases on the other two continents like the Spirit Pagoda, but the Tang Sect has never left the Douluo Continent. The federal government knows of the Tang Sect too, but for the sake of adapting to the current societal norms, the Tang Sect now operates in a low-key manner. After all, the Tang Sect’s reputation is truly too great. The building we’re in is actually owned by a company under the Tang Sect; the Dazzling Era Tang Sect Technology Company. They developed the Hall of Heroes as a learning system, and the opponents you just fought were once members of the Shrek Seven Monsters.”

Tang Wulin was electrified. He recalled his opponent with the newfound realization of her identity. “My opponent… was she in the same generation as the Spirit Pagoda’s founder from the Shrek Seven Monsters ten thousand years ago? The possessor of the Three Cycles Soul Cauldron and the Nine Phoenix Flute, Xiao Xiao the Phoenix Flute Douluo?”

The dumbstruck Xie Xie gasped. “Then, wasn’t my opponent also from the same generation of Shrek’s Seven Monsters, the Demon Rabbit Douluo Jiang Nannan?”