Neither of the two said anything as they walked toward the palace. Tang Wulin remained calm and collected, but he could sense that there were at least two Hyper Douluos accompanying Xue Yuntian, and both of them were constantly appraising him. However, what was rather disappointing to him was that there wasn't even a single Limit Douluo among their ranks. Even those two Hyper Douluos were only around the same power level as Li Yun, and their spiritual powers definitely hadn't reached the Spirit Domain realm, which meant that there would be no hope for them to become Limit Douluos.

Generally speaking, one's spiritual power would reach its peak at around 40 years of age. After that, spiritual power would naturally cease to develop, then gradually regress with age.

Hence, if one wanted to reach the Spirit Domain realm, the best time to do so was before turning 40. This was why the vast majority of Limit Douluos forged resounding reputations at very young ages. If one couldn't attain a certain level of power by the time they turned 40, then it was most likely the case that they would never be able to become a Limit Douluo.

The Hyper Douluos only scrutinized Tang Wulin for a short while before averting their eyes with astonishment in their hearts.

There was no doubt in their minds that Tang Wulin was at the Spirit Domain realm, and they couldn't ascertain his cultivation rank, so they naturally assumed that he was a Limit Douluo. After all, the Spirit Domain realm had always been the symbol of a Limit Douluo. Only Li Yun was aware of the fact that Tang Wulin was only a Soul Sage.

Of course, unbeknownst to him, Tang Wulin had already made a breakthrough to the Soul Douluo level in the past few days, and he had failed to notice this due to the disruption from Tang Wulin's spiritual domain.

"I hope you had a smooth journey, Sect Master. I heard that you made a visit to Spirit Wave City before coming here." Xue Yuntian was the one to break the silence first.

Tang Wulin nodded in response. "I did. I received some information and decided to pay a visit to Spirit Wave City first, and the reality there truly was very disheartening. Never did I think that the Spirit Pagoda would actually be colluding with the Holy Spirit Cult. I'm sure you've heard about the disaster that befell Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect headquarters; our Tang Sect will most definitely be exacting our revenge on all of the perpetrators behind that attack. I had always been perplexed about how the Holy Spirit Cult had managed to transport so many of its members and so many powerful soul missiles into Shrek City despite the thorough border checks; the answer is very apparent to me now.

Xue Yuntian clearly didn't think that he would receive such a direct and straightforward reply, and he couldn't help but ask, "Does that mean we'll be declaring war on the Spirit Pagoda, Sect Master?"

Tang Wulin shook his head in response. "We're not the ones declaring war; the Spirit Pagoda had already declared war on us from the moment they decided to bomb our Tang Sect headquarters. Have you considered their incentives for doing this, Your Majesty?"

Xue Yuntian's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this. "Please enlighten me."

Tang Wulin turned to look at Xue Yuntian, and all of a sudden, a voice rang out in the ears of the latter. "Please enlighten me."

This voice didn't belong to Tang Wulin. Instead, it was his own voice. Furthermore, not only had he heard the voice, all of the surrounding officials had also heard it.

The two Hyper Douluos accompanying Xue Yuntian were particularly stunned by this development, and one of them exclaimed, "Was that time reversal?"

Xue Yuntian's heart jolted with shock upon hearing this. He really did feel as if time had been reversed for an instant just now.

Was this time control? Could it be that this Tang Sect Master's martial soul had something to do with time? If so, then that would be downright terrifying! This was a Limit Douluo with the ability to control time; even if he had more than two Hyper Douluos by his side, Tang Wulin would still be able to take his life with ease if he so pleased!

Li Yun was just as astonished by this development. He was also a Hyper Douluo, and he had interacted with Tang Wulin more than the king and his entourage, so he had a greater sense of what had just happened. In the instant that Tang Wulin had turned toward Xue Yuntian, Li Yun could clearly sense that a strange force field had settled over the surrounding area. Even though it had only managed to warp time for an instant, that was still enough to send chills running down his spine.

Even with his lofty cultivation, he had also been frozen for an instant. This was no longer just a matter of time control; there was most likely an element of spatial manipulation as well. Just what was Tang Wulin's spiritual domain? It was no wonder that he was able to kill Hua Tao so easily. Could it be that he had never been a Soul Sage to begin with? Li Yun was seriously starting to doubt his own judgment.

Tang Wulin replied, "Ambition."

He had answered Xue Yuntian's question as if that instant of time reversal had never even happened.

A faint smile appeared on his face, and said in a grim voice, "Some people are never content with what they have!"

"Indeed," Xue Yuntian chimed in. For some reason, even though he was the king of an empire, he was starting to feel like a subordinate to Tang Wulin.

Tang Wulin continued, "However, we can't let them get what they want. The Spirit Ice Douluo founded the Spirit Pagoda so that humans and soul beasts could coexist in harmony, and so that soul beasts can rebound from the brink of extinction. However, as time has passed, the Spirit Pagoda has strayed further and further away from the Spirit Ice Douluo's initial vision. They've domesticated soul beasts and captured countless of their numbers under the guise of providing them with a habitat that's nothing more than a glorified cage.

"Now, there are almost no soul beasts to be seen on the entire Douluo Continent, yet they've only become more brazen and are now colluding with the Holy Spirit Cult. The Tang Sect isn't the police, but we will always stand on the side of justice; we won't allow such an insidious organization to do as they please."

Tang Wulin's words were extremely impactful, and everyone was immediately struck by the urge to agree with him.

This was spiritual intimidation!

All of the powerful beings present who were at or above the Titled Douluo level could sense the powerful spiritual fluctuations released by Tang Wulin. This wasn't a direct attack, but it could influence one's thoughts in a very subtle way.

Aside from the few most powerful beings among the king's entourage, all of them couldn't help but nod in agreement with Tang Wulin's words.

As the king of an empire, Xue Yuntian naturally possessed more mental fortitude than others, and after a brief moment during which he was influenced by Tang Wulin's spiritual intimidation, he quickly returned to his senses. "How should we right the Spirit Pagoda's wrongs, then, Sect Master?"

Tang Wulin replied, "An illness must be treated, and the same applies for an organization that has lost its way."

At this point, they had already strode through the main gate of the palace, where a series of vehicles were awaiting them. Xue Yuntian and Tang Wulin got onto one of the vehicles together, while everyone else got into the other vehicles.

Xue Yuntian decided to not let any of the powerful beings in his entourage accompany him. He knew that with the powers displayed by Tang Wulin, no one would be able to stop Tang Wulin if he wanted to kill him anyway, so he may as well call off his guards as a gesture of trust and sincerity.

"I truly didn't think that the Spirit Pagoda would stoop to something like this! Are they trying to replicate what the Spirit Hall did 20,000 years ago? How would that benefit them? No matter how much they try to hide their ultimate objective, they'll eventually be exposed and targeted from all sides," Xue Yuntian said in a perplexed manner.

He was truly unable to understand. The Spirit Pagoda was already the world's most powerful organization, and their wealth and status were both unmatched; what did they stand to gain from destroying the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy? Could it be that they had some other objective?

"They're doing this for a chance at ascension," Tang Wulin sighed.

"Ascension?" Xue Yuntian turned to Tang Wulin with a surprised look in his eyes. An answer gradually took shape in his mind, and his heart rate immediately began to quicken.