Chapter 564 - The Dance Floor

The students of the Imperial Star Luo Academy had underestimated Tang Wulin since he was clearly much younger than them and wore a kind smile on his face. However, that smile was a mask that hid the tyrannical strength within him. Without saying a single word, Tang Wulin plowed right through their formation. There was nothing they could do in retaliation, for they did not dare cause a disturbance during the banquet. In this situation, whoever lashed out first was the loser.

Unlike the rest, the four female Imperial Star Luo Academy students looked at Tang Wulin with inquisitive gazes. Even they were not immune to Tang Wulin’s handsomeness.

“How long will I have to eat before I’m full?” Tang Wulin asked anxiously as he glanced at the paltry snacks on the cocktail tables. Delicate pastries and desserts were arranged on each table, but they were next to nothing in his eyes. It would take him a lifetime to satisfy his stomach if these were all he had to eat.

“It’s gonna be hard to fill our bellies.” Xu Lizhi chuckled. “I’ve already swept three tables clean.”

“How are people supposed to be happy if they’re hungry?” Tang Wulin scratched his cheek nervously. His cultivation was closely tied to eating food. The more nutritious the food he consumed, the stronger his blood essence became. As his blood essence grew stronger, it placed more pressure his soul power and encouraged it to condense. As a result, he had never been worried about the strength of his soul power, only its quantity. He also understood that part of the reason why his soul power grew so slowly was because it was constantly being compressed.

Tang Wulin had once asked Wu Zhangkong if it was good that his soul power was being compressed. He had been given a simple explanation in return: to progress beyond their fifth soul ring, all soul masters need to compress their soul power. The earlier he began this process, the purer his soul power would be. He may start facing difficulties now, but in the future he would reap the benefits and have an advantage over his peers. The quality of his soul power would be far better. Although it would slow his progress to becoming a battle armor master, there was no doubt that the compression of his soul power was beneficial to him.

Tang Wulin had found relief in Wu Zhangkong’s explanation, and from then onward he took it to heart, focusing on the quality over quantity when cultivating. Recently he also noticed that, after breaking the fourth seal, his combat style had grown rougher and more direct. He tended to favor brute force and use brutal attacks to overwhelm his opponents. Such intense combat got his blood boiling and drummed up the domineering power that slumbered within his blood essence. He knew that it was his blood essence that caused this shift in combat styles.

“What do we do, Captain?” Xu Lizhi asked anxiously, rousing Tang Wulin from his thoughts.

Tang Wulin sighed. “Even a fly has meat on it. We’ll just settle for eating as much as we can. It’s not like it’s always going to be like this. We can handle starving for one day. Tomorrow we can figure out how to wrestle up some fish.”

Xu Lizhi was taken aback. “But the sea has marine soul beasts in it! Won’t it be dangerous to go catching fish?”

“I was joking.” Tang Wulin laughed dryly. “We can use fishing rods.”

Then Tang Wulin heard a deep voice, one that sounded was all too familiar. He turned in the direction it had come from, and as soon as he did, his eyes went wide like discs. There, standing in pristine white chef’s attire, was a man. He was in the process of delivering a tray of food to a nearby table. It was the sect master of the Body Sect and Divine-grade mecha pilot, Mu Ye!

“U-Uncle Mu?” Tang Wulin stammered, gawking at the man. What’s he doing here? Even though he’s here as a diplomatic representative, he shouldn’t be playing the part of a mere chef, right?

Mu Ye laughed slyly, as if he had been caught in the middle of committing a crime. “I’m a qualified chef,” he said. “In fact, I own a series of restaurants all over Douluo. I can be considered a representative of Douluo’s culinary arts. That aside, what’s your cabin number?”

Tang Wulin told Mu Ye what he wanted to know and the man beamed. “Great! Don’t worry about eating your fill right now. I’ll stop by later tonight and cook something up for you.” Then he looked Tang Wulin up and down and nodded in satisfaction. “You look good.”

Before Tang Wulin could even try to comprehend what was happening, Mu Ye dashed away, leaving him staring in disbelief. The sect master of the Body Sect, Titled Douluo, Divine-grade mecha pilot, and quite possibly a four-word battle armor master, was acting as a mere chef in this cultural exchange between continents.

What’s he doing? Tang Wulin couldn’t help but wonder as he recalled his last encounter with Mu Ye. Is he here because of me?

In truth, Mu Ye really was here because of Tang Wulin. After their last meeting, Mu Ye had plenty of time to reflect on the situation and ultimately came to terms with reality. A genius perfectly suited for the Body Sect like Tang Wulin was miraculously rare. He could not afford to let Tang Wulin go, especially when the fate of the Body Sect was at stake. Loyalty was important, but he could worry about that after ensuring the survival of his sect’s legacy! If he didn’t find a successor for the Body Sect, its legacy, which had endured for millenia, would be lost. At that point, its rules would be protecting no one.

In the past Zhen Hua told Mu Ye that, as long as nothing terrible happened, Tang Wulin had an eighty percent chance of becoming a Divine Blacksmith in the future. With a talented heir like him, the Body Sect would never have to worry about procuring high-grade refined metals once he matured. Furthermore, Tang Wulin’s character had already been tested time and time again. His ordeals against the evil soul masters alone were proof of that, but his status as a Shrek Academy student left no doubts about his virtue. Anyone who entered Shrek Academy, especially someone capable of becoming a class president, was an outstanding individual.

Mu Ye had been keeping a close eye on Tang Wulin for a while now. He had even been watching when the young man led his team to defeat the third grade. It was then that Mu Ye resolved to induct Tang Wulin into the Body Sect at any cost. Even if Tang Wulin remained a disciple of the Tang Sect alongside that, it would be worth it. This resolve led Mu Ye to use his myriad connections to sneak into the diplomatic mission to Star Luo.

Mu Ye had finally disappeared amongst the crowd, yet Tang Wulin still stood there with his brow furrowed. He was quite confused, but he had to admit that it was reassuring to know there was another Titled Douluo aboard the ship that had his back.

Around Tang Wulin, the banquet continued. Members of both delegations were behaving conservatively since this was the first banquet with both parties in attendance. Only a few people were on the dance floor. Most lingered in the periphery making small talk. A few minutes later, staff members made their way through the hall and a stuck number tags on everyone.

“Excuse me, everyone!” Sima Lanxiao exclaimed. “We will now start preparing for the contests. The method we’ll be using to choose participants is simple. Both delegations will nominate five talented individuals. Once ten people have been nominated, all of us will vote on them for five categories: handsomest gentleman, most beautiful lady, best-dressed man, and best-dressed lady, and best dance couple. I won’t worry about other details for now, but we are lacking some dancers on the dance floor. I’m sure most of you in both delegations are young men and women, so come on! Don’t bottle up your youthful passion. Have some fun! Dance!”

Sima Lanxiao’s words had a bewitching sound to them. Moments after he finished speaking, young men and woman swarmed the dance floor.

At that moment Tang Wulin was busy stuffing himself alongside Xu Lizhi and the others. They were far from the dancefloor.

It was then that someone approached him. “Do you want to dance?”

Tang Wulin turned to see Lin Yuhan in a beautiful blue dress.