As for the attack that had been unleashed by the Beautiful Silk Tulip soul spirit, that couldn't actually be referred to as an attack. Instead, it was Beautiful Silk Tulip's innate Beautiful Silk Fragrance. The Beautiful Silk Fragrance could cure all poisons and also clear away impurities, both of which were very beneficial effects. However, during this process, one's sense of pain would vanish, and they'd completely relax, which was why Blood Nine hadn't felt any pain after being struck by the initial attack. In the end, he was only able to react after a lethal blow had already been dealt, by which time it was already too late.

Hence, this soul skill was supposed to be an assistance and healing type soul skill, but it could also be used for other purposes, as was demonstrated.

Even Blood Nine didn't really know how he'd lost, but the undeniable truth was that he'd been defeated.

The victory tally above Tang Wulin's head increased by one, and he maintained a perfect battle record in the Star Battle Net. This battle had most definitely been his most perilous one, but he still won in the end.

After logging out of the Star Battle Net and emerging from his Star Cabin, Tang Wulin immediately sat down with his legs crossed to meditate.

This battle had had a very profound impact on him, and it could be said that this was the first time that he'd completely integrated his blood soul fusion skills into his battle techniques.

If it weren't for the formation of his soul core and his Beautiful Silk Tulip soul spirit, there would've been no way for him to secure victory, even if Blood Nine had held back. After fusing all of these abilities together, Tang Wulin felt for the first time that he'd already begun to attain the combat prowess of a high-grade Soul Master.

This stint of meditation was extremely important to him for consolidation purposes. As expected, battling against a powerful being was the best way to examine oneself. At the same time, both of his major energy cores had truly stabilized during this battle, thereby allowing him to begin to control all of his power.

He didn't have twin martial souls, but it was almost like he did.

He recalled that he had once been very envious of Wu Siduo's self soul fusion skill, but now, his blood soul fusion skills had completely surpassed her level. His blood soul fusion skill possessed enormous explosive power, and his combat prowess had finally reached the Titled Duoluo level.

It was already the next day by the time Tang Wulin concluded his meditation. He was completely reinvigorated, and even his spiritual power seemed to have improved significantly.

There was a message left on his Blood God Bracelet, telling him to go to the Blood God Battalion after his cultivation.

Tang Wulin replied to the message to confirm a time with Blood One, to which Blood One replied that he wanted to see him right away.

Thus, after doing some stretches, he picked up his Golden Dragon Spear and took the elevator before arriving at the main office of the Blood God Battalion.

Blood One and Blood Three were the only Blood Gods present.

"Senior Blood One." Tang Wulin made his way over to Blood One.

Blood Three had a platter in her hands, upon which was draped a red cloth.

Blood One gestured for Tang Wulin to come closer while removing the cloth on the platter.

There was a Blood God Bracelet and two epaulets on the platter.

The Blood God Bracelet was of a reddish-golden color, and it still had a rose pattern engraved on its surface, but it looked even more vibrant. The epaulets each had a shimmering golden general star on it, and the general stars were surrounded by an embroidered pattern of golden threads. These were major general epaulets!

Tang Wulin's heart rate was beginning to elevate.

Blood One handed the Blood God Bracelet over to him. "You can transfer your information into this new Blood God Bracelet. As one of the nine Blood Gods, you will be entitled to some special privileges, which will be explained to you by Blood Three in due time. Always remember this; we may have special privileges, but those special privileges are solely designed to help us better oppose abyssal creatures, and they're not to be used for personal gain."

He removed the colonel epaulets from Tang Wulin's shoulders before replacing them with these new ones.

Blood Three smiled, and said, "You are the youngest Blood God in the history of the Blood God Battalion, and also the youngest major general in the history of the entire federation. Congratulations, Blood Nine!"

Everything felt a little surreal to Tang Wulin, and he was struck by a sense of uneasiness and insecurity. He didn't really deserve the title of Blood Nine. At the same time, he was feeling rather guilty. Blood Nine had held back so he could express himself to his heart's content, yet he'd taken advantage of that, and was now taking something that belonged to him.

"Are you feeling insecure or perhaps uneasy?" Blood One asked in an indifferent voice.

Tang Wulin looked at the heavy epaulets on his shoulders, and a wry smile appeared on his face. "A bit of both, I guess. With these epaulets, I feel like I won't even dare to step out of my dormitory now. After all, I don't actually possess power befitting of this title."

Blood One said in a serious voice, "Then work hard so you can attain that power! This is to motivate you, and also to give you a sense of urgency. Are you really just going to return your title as Blood Nine in a month without putting up a fight? That's not what we want to see, and I'm sure the former Blood Nine doesn't want to see that, either. What you have to do is protect this honor at all costs, understood?"

Tang Wulin's heart stirred slightly upon hearing this. He had to protect this honor! But was he really capable of doing that? No, he couldn't allow himself to have second thoughts. He had to do everything in his power to protect what he had so that even if he failed, he'd have no regrets.

Blood One nodded with a pleased expression at the sight of the determined look that had gradually appeared in Tang Wulin's eyes. "You're constantly creating miracles, and we, as your seniors and comrades, are more than willing to bear witness to your meteoric rise. Do your best; your rate of growth has already exceeded my expectations, and you really are fit to be the leader of Shrek's Seven Monsters. What you have to do is work even harder and improve yourself at all costs. The responsibilities you bear are very heavy, and they certainly don't just lie with the Blood God Legion.

"To put things into perspective, the future of Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect hinge on your future. The task is great and the path ahead will be a long and arduous one. However, you don't have to think about those burdens right now as you have no right to shoulder them as you are now. All you have to do is make yourself powerful enough so you attain that right."

"Yes! I understand."

A smile suddenly appeared on Blood One's face. "Seeing as you were able to defeat Blood Nine yesterday, I think the target that I set for your mission was too easy. As such, I'm going to change the mission; in the Star Battle Net Inter-federation Competition, you have to become the champion of the Soul Master battle discipline, and you also have to secure a top-three berth in the mecha battle discipline. Otherwise, I'm going to prohibit you from leaving the legion base for an entire year."

Tang Wulin's lips twitched upon hearing this. "But that's..."

Blood One waved a hand to cut him off. "This is an order. As a soldier, the first thing that you have to learn is to follow orders. That's it."

Blood One departed after that, leaving a dumbstruck Tang Wulin behind.

The original mission was already difficult enough, yet the difficulty had just been increased again! Tang Wulin was suddenly kicking himself for challenging Blood Nine. He was already under a lot of pressure, yet here he was piling even more pressure on himself! He had truly shot himself in the foot!

Blood Three smiled, and said, "He only has such high requirements for you because he holds you in very high regard. Do your best; we all believe that you can complete the mission."

Tang Wulin wore a sour expression as he sighed, "Can he lower his expectations for me? I'm being crushed by the weight of his expectations!"

Blood Three chuckled, "You'll have to convince him of that yourself. I think you should go and take a walk. As a young man, don't you want to go and show off your epaulets to your friends? There are less than 20 major generals in our entire legion, and you're on equal footing with even the vice-legion commanders in this regard. Don't worry about drawing envy from others; everyone has benefited greatly from your breakthrough, so they'll only be happy for you. The legion commander and Blood One have both decided to announce to the entire legion that you were the one who brought about the recent life tide. You are definitely the center of attention in the legion, and also the one that everyone is grateful toward.

"Alright, it's time to tell you about the special privileges that we Blood Gods are entitled to. If you think that you're going to lose your current title in a month, then it can't hurt to take full advantage of these privileges while you can. Firstly, as a Blood God, you get a 30% discount whenever you use accolades to purchase any resources within the legion. Secondly, as a Blood God, you can command any unit below the corps level, and Blood One even has the same jurisdictive powers as the legion commander..."

Tang Wulin completed his Blood God Bracelet data transfer while listening to Blood Three's introduction. As he put on the reddish-golden Blood God Bracelet, a sense of pride welled up involuntarily within his heart. It was just as Blood One had said: he had to truly work hard to protect everything he had received.

He reflexively clenched his fists and gently swayed his own arms. He was going to be fighting Blood Nine again in a month! He wouldn't be the true Blood Nine unless he could defeat him again.

Perhaps he really would have a chance to permanently hold this title. His eyes narrowed slightly as he directed his will into his dragon core while clenching his fists.

Following Blood Three's introduction, Tang Wulin was just about to return to his dormitory room to continue cultivating when his Blood God Bracelet suddenly began to vibrate. This was the first call he was receiving on his Blood God level Blood God Bracelet, and he looked down to find that it was Long Yuxue who was calling him.

"What're you up to?"