"What we have to do now is lure him out into the open, then strike against him," Qiangu Zhangting said as a cold light flashed through his eyes.

"You've grown up, Zhangting," Qiangu Dongfeng said with a gratified expression. He was most pleased by the fact that Qiangu Zhangting had managed to come up with such sound and logical analysis without allowing his emotions to cloud his judgment.

"I really like Nana as well. Are you suggesting we should use her to lure out Tang Wulin? If so, I have to advise you to exercise caution. Nana has made significant contributions to our research into soul spirit evolution. That, in conjunction with the contributions she made toward the development of our man-made black soul spirits makes her the most worthy candidate to inherit the position of chairman from me. This is why I've always wanted you to marry her; with her support, no one will be able to dispute your position once you take over from me, and you'll be able to take our family to greater heights."

Qiangu Zhangting smiled, and replied, "Rest assured, Grandfather, I certainly wouldn't do something as foolish as directly using Nana to lure out Tang Wulin. I truly love Nana as well; she's the most exceptional woman on the entire continent and the only one worthy of becoming my wife. She's already chosen our Spirit Pagoda and made such significant contributions as well; we can't abandon her no matter what! I've thought of a much better plan."

Qiangu Dongfeng's eyes lit up as he asked, "What is it?"

Qiangu Zhangting chuckled, "A joust for a spouse!"

"Joust for a spouse?" Qiangu Dongfeng was quite taken aback to hear this.

Qiangu Zhangting nodded in response without any hesitation. "There's a very simple reason for this; Nana is the most exceptional young talent from our Spirit Pagoda, and she's at an age that's ripe for marriage. In order to find a husband for her, the Spirit Pagoda is going to be holding a grand joust for a spouse event, and it'll also be a platform for Soul Masters to meet and interact with one another."

Qiangu Dongfeng immediately realized what his grandson's intentions were.

"That's a good idea, but we'll have to secure Nana's agreement first."

Qiangu Zhangting smiled, and said, "It'll be up to you to convince her, Grandfather. You treat her extremely well, and she's more receptive to you than anyone else. We'll decide the rules of the joust for a spouse, and when the news gets released, I'm sure Tang Wulin will take the bait."

Qiangu Dongfeng said, "There's an issue that I'm not sure if you've considered: that Tang Wulin is very powerful. I'm sure you've seen the Trial of Five Gods that he recently participated in; at your current level of power, it's going to be very difficult to defeat him."

A cold light flashed through Qiangu Zhangting's eyes. "Not only am I going to defeat him, I'm going to use this opportunity to 'accidentally' kill him! Without him, Shrek Academy's rebuild will completely fail. As for whether I'll be able to defeat him, that's not an area of concern; I just went to visit Great-grandfather before coming here."

Qiangu Dongfeng was ecstatic to hear this. "Father has come out of seclusion?"

Qiangu Zhangting nodded in response. "He did just recently, so there's nothing for you to worry about."

Qiangu Dongfeng burst into raucous laughter. "Haha, alright, then let's arrange this joust for a spouse!"

......

Tang Wulin stopped in his tracks as he bent over with his hands on his knees, panting heavily from exertion.

He didn't know how long he had been walking for as there was no concept of time in this world.

All his father had told him was that he was currently undertaking the Nine Trials of the Sea God, and that he had to follow this path onward.

However, as he continued along this path, he was made aware of a series of issues, the first of which was that all of his power had disappeared.

There wasn't even a single trace of soul power in his entire body, and even his spiritual power had disappeared, as had his insane strength and physical constitution. In this golden world, it was as if he had become a completely normal person.

However, what was even more terrifying was that this place was far too quiet; it was deathly silent without any sound, nor anything to be seen.

All he could do was continue to forge ahead, yet as his energy waned and his physical condition worsened, the sense of loneliness became more and more crippling.

He trudged onward one step after another, and he knew that he had no choice but to keep going.

The constant hardships that he had experienced and his experience on the demonic island had given him a will of iron and steel. By his calculations, if time passed by at the same rate in here as it did in the outside world, then he had already been walking for three days and three nights without any food or water.

His body was already on the verge of collapse, and he didn't know how far he had walked. At this point, even his thoughts were beginning to scatter, yet he still didn't stop in this arduous journey.

Perhaps the first trial was a test of willpower, so he couldn't stop.

His father had told him that if he wanted to be able to truly use the power of the Sea God's Trident, then he would have to complete this trial. He was doing this both for himself and to not disappoint his father.

Seeing as this was his father's weapon, then he had to have undergone a similar trial. If his father had been able to complete this trial, then he definitely could as well.

These thoughts filled Tang Wulin with renewed motivation over and over again and supported him as he continued onward.

Sweat was dripping down incessantly as he walked, and he had already exceeded his physical limits long ago; he was being fuelled by nothing more than pure willpower.

His entire field of view had already become blurry, and he could only just barely discern that he was progressing in the right direction. He felt as if his legs had been filled with lead, and it was exactly because he had grown accustomed to a superhuman physical constitution that this complete loss of power was all the more painful for him.

He continued onward at an agonizing pace, becoming more and more feeble with every step that he took.

His life force was constantly being expended, and he could even feel death approaching with each passing step.

The agony that was being brought on by his exhaustion was fading, and it felt as if his soul were drifting toward another world. This was actually quite a comforting sensation, and it was as if there was a voice in his head, telling him to give up so he could be relieved of all of this agony.

He bit down onto the tip of his own tongue until a metallic bloody tang spread through his mouth, and the sharp pain immediately dispelled that sense of false comfort. However, at the same time, his body thumped violently down onto the ground, unable to go even half a step further.

The impact upon landing sent a jolt of dizziness running through his head, and he felt as if his life force were about to instantly dissipate.

Right at this moment, an authoritative voice suddenly rang out in the deathly silent golden world. "There are five meters until the endpoint."

Tang Wulin's heart jolted upon hearing this, and he forced himself to look ahead.

His vision was already completely blurry at this point, but he could see that a red smudge seemed to have appeared in the distance. His mind told him that that was the endpoint. Was he finally about to complete this arduous trial?

He took a deep breath and tried to rise to his feet, but he discovered that he had lost all feeling in his legs, and the simple gesture of getting up was completely beyond his capabilities.

No, I have to go on! There are only five meters left!

He could no longer walk, so he crawled and clawed his way toward the target with his hands.

His leaden legs trailed along behind him, and even though all of his energy was already long gone, he was forcing himself onward through sheer force of will.

He had to complete this trial!

......