What could make him happier than for the Tang Sect to obtain such a precious treasure?

"Fatty, tell Sect Master Tang that I would still like an opportunity to enter that place. If you have any conditions, state them and I'll do my best to satisfy you," En Ci said in a serious voice.

Hu Jie glanced at him before replying, "I'll pass on the message. As for whether the sect master agrees or not, that'll be up to him. By the way, who's going to be representing the empire today?"

A mysterious look appeared on En Ci's face. "You won a Holy Radiant Dragon Crystal from me yesterday; what kind of opponent do you think I'll organize for your sect master today? Let me put it in simple terms for you; your sect master won't even have a 10% chance of winning the next three matches."

"Oh?" Hu Jie raised an eyebrow as he countered, "What did you say about our sect master's chances yesterday? Was it 20% or 10%? If 20% in your eyes equates to 100%, then can I interpret less than 10% as the equivalent to over 80%? I actually have to thank you; your prophecies have been the best luck charm that we could ask for, hahahaha!"

En Ci's eyelids twitched in the face of Hu Jie's mockery. He was cursing Zhang Geyang internally. Zhang Geyang may have lost a soul spirit, but he had lost something just as if not more precious.

If it weren't for his absolute confidence in Zhang Geyang, he would've never offered his Holy Radiant Dragon Crystal in a bet. He had done so as he knew that there was no way that Zhang Geyang would hold back, but who would've thought that he would still lose despite that?

It was quite clear that Tang Wulin was harboring some kind of secret, and it was exactly this secret that had allowed him to complete that stunning turnaround. Even now, En Ci still had no idea what that secret was, but he believed that in the face of absolute power, everything else was inconsequential.

This soul skill battle was going to be the most direct clash between Soul Masters, and it was a test of pure power. He was confident that Tang Wulin wouldn't be able to create another miracle under these circumstances.

"Now then, please welcome our two competitors. As usual, from the Tang Sect, we have Sect Master Tang Wulin, and representing the Star Luo Empire..." The announcer intentionally paused here to create suspense, and everyone's attention was drawn to the other entrance.

"Qilin Douluo Tong Yu!"

As soon as this announcement was made, the entire spectator stands instantly erupted into a frenzy.

The Smiling Douluo's expression abruptly stiffened, and he hurriedly turned toward En Ci. "Tong Yu? He's back?"

It was En Ci's turn to smile now. "Indeed, and he's the perfect choice for this match, isn't that right, fatty?"

The Smiling Douluo's expression darkened slightly upon hearing this. Even if En Ci were to participate in the battle himself, he wouldn't be this concerned. After all, the worst thing that could happen was a defeat for Tang Wulin. However, this Qilin Douluo was different.

A man slowly made his way into the stadium from the entrance, and his appearance was quite frightening. He was around two meters tall, and was extremely muscular. In particular, his arms were even thicker than the legs of the average adult man. Those musclebound arms were bared to reveal a layer of vibrant five-colored scales, that gave off a very menacing appearance.

The colors of his eyes were also very strange; one of them was blue while the other was red. His blue eye seemed to be able to freeze the beholder's soul, while his red eye seemed to be filled with scorching flames.

In contrast with the handsome and well-built Tang Wulin, this was like a showdown between a hero and a demon.

Everyone in the entire empire had heard of Qilin Douluo Tong Yu. He was also from Monster Academy, but in contrast with the other students of the academy, he had truly become a monster.

When Tong Yu had first awakened his martial soul, it had been a dog-type martial soul, and his innate soul power had only been at the second rank. As such, he wasn't very suited for cultivation, but he had awakened soul power nonetheless, so his family had suggested that he pursue mecha piloting.

However, Tong Yu refused to comply to this. He had grown up idolizing heroic Soul Masters, and he vowed to become a powerful Soul Master. After that, the first half of his life was a true feel-good story.

With his resolute determination and impeccable work ethic, he constantly improved and finally managed to just barely earn enrollment into an elementary Soul Master academy.

He worked harder than everyone else to keep up with his peers, but due to his lackluster aptitude, the fruits of his labors were quite barren.

As a result, he was unable to graduate, and he didn't even make it to rank 20 in soul power at the time.

This dealt Tong Yu a very heavy blow, and on top of that, the girl of his dreams at the time had abandoned him for a student that had made it to an intermediate Soul Master academy. At the height of his rage and despair, Tong Yu did something unthinkable and chugged down a whole bottle of insecticide to commit suicide.

By the time his family discovered what he had done, he was already frothing at the mouth and completely unconscious. After being taken to the hospital, the doctors had concluded that he was beyond saving.

Just as his family was preparing for his funeral, a startling turn of events unfolded. Scales began to appear all over Tong Yu's body, and his aura also began to change.

After that, he woke up.

Following that ordeal, Tong Yu had become a lot more reclusive and quiet. At the same time, his cultivation rank had swelled to almost 30, which was very remarkable for someone of his age at the time.

However, his appearance had been altered significantly. His body had become extremely muscular, and his skin was covered in irregular five-colored scales. This gave him a very unsettling appearance, and in the eyes of everyone else, including his own family, he was a monster.

During the next few years, he was constantly cultivating by himself in his room, and the lack of acceptance from the outside world gradually exacerbated his reclusive personality. That was until Monster Academy discovered him and took him away. Following a routine examination, the academy discovered that his martial soul had mutated after his attempted suicide. As a result, he had awakened an extremely recessive part of his bloodline, so essentially, his martial soul had undergone a second awakening.

Following an evaluation, it was determined that this martial soul was the Qilin, a type of ancient divine beast. Due to the fact that the Qilin bloodline in his body was far too diluted, even though it had been awakened, it was very impure, and that was what had resulted in the changes in his appearance. Furthermore, these changes were irreversible.

After that, he remained in Monster Academy to cultivate. This was the opportunity he had always wanted, and his stellar work ethic, combined with the exceptional resources offered by Monster Academy, allowed him to develop at a rapid rate. Within the span of just a few years, he became the top prospect among the younger generation of the academy. However, it was also during this time that the flaws in his personality began to show.

During a sparring match, he almost beat a student to death, and he was handed down a severe punishment by the academy.

After that, he became even more reclusive and focused entirely on cultivation. He became a Titled Douluo at 24, and a Hyper Douluo at 30. Up to this point, his life story was still a very inspirational one.

However, a major event then took place in his life not long thereafter.

Hatred had become a deep-rooted part of his being, and he could never forget the root cause behind his suicide attempt. After he became a Hyper Douluo, he sought out the female student who had abandoned him. At that point, she was already married and had a child. In his fit of maddened fury, he maimed and slaughtered her right in front of her child.

After that, he did nothing to cover his trail and voluntarily handed himself in. This was, of course, a positive gesture, but the crime that he had committed was simply far too heinous. Not only had he killed someone, he had killed the mother of a child right in front of the child in one of the most cruel acts imaginable.

Following the event, the child was severely traumatized, but as a Hyper Douluo, there was no way that Tong Yu could be treated as a normal criminal.

In reality, if he had attempted to escape, there wouldn't have been many people on the entire continent who could've stopped him.

In the end, the fault was attributed to Monster Academy. Not only did an academy have to provide instruction to its students, it also had to teach its students how to be a good human being; Tong Yu's actions were a clear manifestation of the flaws in the academy's educational ethos.