The Spirit Pagoda was already this powerful; if they were colluding with the Holy Spirit Cult as well, then who would be able to stop them? Perhaps even the Battle God Hall and the Tang Sect combined wouldn't be a match for them.

What was the Spirit Pagoda's ultimate objective for colluding with these Evil Soul Masters?

Countless thoughts were flashing through Xue Yuntian's mind at once, and he was struck by a splitting headache. He felt as if the empire were a rootless lotus leaf that could be capsized at any moment.

"Your Majesty, you have to make a decision!" the servant urged. This servant had been by Xue Yuntian's side ever since the latter was just a child, and he had a lot of power in the royal palace. On top of that, he was extremely loyal to Xue Yuntian, and was the person that Xue Yuntian trusted the most.

"What should I do?" Xue Yuntian closed his eyes in a pained manner.

"Your Majesty, a decision must be made now. There is no turning back for us; if we don't pledge our allegiance to one of two sides, then..." The servant's words cut off here, but Xue Yuntian was naturally aware of what he wanted to say.

He took a deep breath before instructing in a solemn voice, "Contact Li Yun and tell him I want to meet the Tang Sect Master right away. I'll go to Spirit Wave City to see him. Hurry!"

Xue Yuntian had managed to fight off competition from many princes before finally ascending to the throne, and he certainly hadn't done so by being fickle and indecisive. He had already decided that the Spirit Pagoda could no longer be trusted. Regardless of whether the Tang Sect was telling the truth or not, the fact of the matter was that their headquarters had been destroyed, and war was likely to break out at any moment. Under these circumstances, the only way he could save his empire was to rely on the Tang Sect. He couldn't allow the Dou Spirit Empire to fall into ruins in his hands!

He had already decided to cast aside his dignity to meet the Tang Sect Master in Spirit Wave City. No matter what conditions the Tang Sect proposed, he would have no choice but to agree as he had to prioritize the preservation of his empire above all else.

Spirit Wave City.

"Sect Master, we've just received news from the Dou Spirit Empire royal palace that King Xue Yuntian will be coming to see you in person in Spirit Wave City," Li Yun informed in a respectful manner.

He was actually opposed to Tang Wulin's decision to announce that the Tang Sect was responsible for the destruction of the Spirit Pagoda headquarters. Prior to the incident, he would've definitely offered verbal opposition to this decision as this would undoubtedly place the Tang Sect under a lot of peril and scrutiny.

However, ever since he had witnessed the truly horrific side of Tang Wulin on that day, he had developed a sense of fear toward this young sect master. As such, he didn't offer some token opposition, but quickly caved upon Tang Wulin's insistence.

Of course, Tang Wulin had thought about this decision extensively, and wasn't just doing something rash and hotheaded. Firstly, announcing responsibility for the Spirit Pagoda incident was meant as a form of intimidation to the royal family. He was letting them know that there was no other power the Dou Spirit Empire could rely on aside from the Tang Sect.

At the same time, Tang Wulin was intentionally allowing this news to travel back to the federation. The Spirit Pagoda's position in the federation was extremely secure, and they would definitely use all types of methods to try and prosecute the Tang Sect, but the Tang Sect was currently in a completely underground state, so he didn't have to worry about them in the short term. Even if a very small proportion of people were to believe that the Spirit Pagoda had indeed colluded with the Holy Spirit Cult, then that would be quite a heavy blow to their reputation.

After all, many people would still choose to trust the Tang Sect, and the recent bombing of the Tang Sect headquarters and Shrek Academy was more than enough to capture people's imaginations.

From the moment that Tang Wulin had discovered Evil Soul Masters in the underground research facility of the Spirit Pagoda, he knew that the Tang Sect and the Spirit Pagoda were inevitably going to have to oppose one another. As such, he was taking the initiative to declare war on the Spirit Pagoda in the most emphatic way possible. The Tang Sect and Shrek Academy had to rally up the people that were willing to support them. This wasn't exactly the perfect opportunity to make this rallying call, but taking into account the imminent war and the fact that the Tang Sect was now lurking in the shadows, thereby making it a lot less vulnerable than before, he still decided to launch this attack on the Spirit Pagoda. At the very least, this would result in some controversy that would cause the Spirit Pagoda many headaches.

At the same time, this decision was also related to his breakthrough to the Soul Douluo level. His powers had always been far beyond those of his peers, and it was very important that he possessed sufficient power as that would allow him to do more things and face more severe repercussions.

Furthermore, he was confident that by making this announcement, he would definitely be able to complete the objective for this trip far more smoothly. The Dou Spirit Empire was actually quite a simple case; this was a weak empire that didn't really have many choices. In contrast, the Star Luo Empire was a lot more powerful. If the war were to truly break out, then the Star Luo Empire would be the federation's main target. As such, it would not be an easy task for him to convince the Star Luo Empire to comply with the Tang Sect's conditions.

"Inform the Dou Spirit Empire royal family that we've already set off to meet His Majesty in Heaven Dou City," Tang Wulin instructed.

Li Yun faltered slightly upon hearing this. Could it be that Tang Wulin hadn't announced responsibility for the Spirit Pagoda incident to force the Dou Spirit Empire to bow its head to the Tang Sect?

However, he quickly saw the wisdom in Tang Wulin's decisions.

Forcing the king to bow his head and come to Spirit Wave City would naturally place the Tang Sect on a superior pedestal when it came to negotiations, but taking into consideration the long-term relationship between the Tang Sect and the Dou Spirit Empire, it would be best not to take things too far.

Announcing responsibility for the Spirit Pagoda incident was a show of power, while expressing a willingness to go to the royal palace to meet the king was a show of compassion; this was a far better combination than to simply force the Tang Sect's will onto the Dou Spirit Empire through brute power alone. It seemed that his sect master was not only far more powerful than his cultivation rank suggested, he was also wise beyond his years!

Thus, they set off for the royal palace. Two soul buses drove onto the highway, and Tang Wulin sat in the front seat of one of them with his eyes closed.

There were currently countless thoughts racing through his mind, and he was doing his best to collect his own thoughts.

There were some things that he had to set aside for now as the top priority was to prevent this war. Following some careful consideration, he discovered that all he could do was believe everything that he had seen earlier to be true. His foster parents had been saved and taken away by his birth father, who was a legendary historical figure and a true god.

Only by believing this would he be able to minimize the impact that everything had had on him.

As such, he carefully recalled everything that Tang San had told him and committed those words deep into his memory.

After analyzing everything that Tang San had told him, he was able to summarize several important points. Firstly, his birth parents hadn't abandoned him; they had left him on the Douluo Continent out of necessity and for his own survival. Furthermore, he had to constantly maintain control over himself to oppose the will of the Golden Dragon King, but at the same time, he didn't have to be overly concerned about the Golden Dragon King as its bloodline would make him very difficult to kill.

After that came the inheritance and words of advice.

The more Tang Wulin delved into these memories, the more he became convinced that everything had been real. Tang San's words had provided a perfect explanation for why the power of the Golden Dragon King was in his body, and why it had been sealed up in 18 parts.

Tang Wulin had asked the Holy Spirit Douluo whether he and his foster parents shared the same bloodline, and after some hesitation, she had confirmed that they were indeed unrelated by blood.

This meant that they really were his foster parents, and that they hadn't just said that to console him. With that in mind, Tang Wulin's mood brightened significantly.

He was still struggling to wrap his head around the concept that his father was a godking, and at the same time, he had been extremely touched by Tang San's declaration that everything he did was so that his children could be proud of him.

It was just as Tang Ziran had said, one could only absolutely trust and rely on oneself.