Tang Wulin looked on at Zhen Hua's departing figure in a flabbergasted manner. What had happened to basic trust and integrity? Didn't he say that he could leave after successfully completing heavenly refinement once? Why was it suddenly 10 times now?

However, a smile appeared on his face almost as soon as Zhen Hua turned around. He had already succeeded once, so was 10 more really that difficult to accomplish? It didn't seem so!

With his Infernal Lightning Vine, the greatest obstacle, which was the lightning tribulation, was very easy for him to overcome. Thus, all he had to do now was accumulate more experience and experiment with different types of metals and alloys.

He had still had much room for improvement, but thankfully, he had finally made the breakthrough. Furthermore, he could sense that his Infernal Lightning Vine was still rather dissatisfied even after devouring a portion of the elemental tribulation.

He didn't know what effect this tribulation lightning would have on his Infernal Lightning Vine, but it was definitely going to be a positive one.

On top of that, heavenly refinement could also refine his body and allow him to forge divine-grade metals; it was an ideal method of cultivation for him!

......

10 days passed by in a flash, and the day that the entirety of Bright City had been eagerly awaiting finally arrived.

Since the early morning, the Bright City Sports Stadium had been completely surrounded, and there were many soldiers maintaining law and order, ensuring that the most important roads leading to the sports stadium were unobstructed.

The Spirit Pagoda was most likely the only organization that could hold a joust for a spouse event of such a massive scale.

According to the latest statistics, the number of registrants for the event was already close to 4,000. The prizes on offer were simply far too alluring to miss.

On top of that, the Spirit Pagoda had announced three days ago that it would be offering a 100,000-year-old soul spirit as Silver Dragon Princess Gu Yuena's dowry.

This piece of news was the last straw that broke the camel's back, and the entire Soul Master world instantly erupted into a frenzy.

Generally speaking, all Soul Emperors were above 25 years of age, and those between 25 and 50 comprised the true elite core of the Douluo Continent's Soul Master world.

The total number of registrants may have only been 4,000, but one had to realize that these were all Soul Emperors, Soul Sages, Soul Douluos, and even Titled Douluos!

It could be said that this was the top-tier power of the entire continent.

There were even people who had joked that if a Godslayer missile were to be dropped on the Bright City Sports Stadium, then the majority of the Douluo Federation's top-tier power would be eradicated.

This was only a joke, but due to the tragedy that had befallen Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect, the federal government had made sure to take extensive safety precautions. They were keeping the final Godslayer missile under strict surveillance, and an aircraft squadron, mecha corps, and a huge number of troops had been deployed to Bright City to ensure public safety.

Bright City was currently the most populous city on the continent, but it also had the best law and order.

Each registrant received an electronic card, within which was contained detailed identification information.

The sports stadium was already completely filled with spectators, and the Spirit Pagoda had spared no effort to hold this event, even donating a huge sum of money to the army that was responsible for maintaining law and order in Bright City.

It had to be said that the Spirit Pagoda had done an exemplary job promoting the event. Not only had this become a grand event for the entire continent, the stunning prizes that they were offering had significantly improved its reputation. In particular, its status in the Soul Master world had risen noticeably.

The new motto of the Spirit Pagoda was to use Soul Masters and give back to Soul Masters, and their vision was to create a model organization that was a home to all Soul Masters.

This drew a stark contrast with its past haughty attitude, making it a lot more relatable to all Soul Masters. As a result, the public image of the Spirit Pagoda was improved significantly, and that drowned out a lot of negative press aimed against it.

Under these circumstances, the Dove Faction had no way to attack the Spirit Pagoda. After all, this was only a joust for a spouse, and such lavish prizes were being offered.

Due to the sheer number of participants, even the pre-event selection process was scheduled to be completed in seven days, with around 500 to 600 people undergoing examinations per day.

In order to give the spectators a better view of this examination process, all of the large soul apparatus used for the examinations were positioned at the center of the Bright City Sports Stadium, and there were 36 massive screens hanging in front of the spectator stands, providing a live broadcast of the proceedings.

At this point, all of the participants due to be examined on the first day had already been gathered in the lobby by the employees of the stadium.

Prior to this day, no one knew what the examinations were going to be, so those undergoing the examinations on the first day were at a relative disadvantage. However, according to the Spirit Pagoda, the sequence wouldn't affect the fairness of the entire examination.

"Beep!" A handsome young man strode through an electronic door in a proud manner, and his name was displayed on a screen: "Yu Longyue of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan."

The Soul Masters lined up behind him were quite surprised to see this.

The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon was a top-tier martial soul! Even though this Yu Longyue appeared to be less than 30 years of age, his cultivation rank definitely wouldn't be too low considering he hailed from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

Yu Longyue was naturally none other than Tang Wulin, and this identity had been prepared for him by the Tang Sect. Aside from him, the rest of Shrek's Seven Monsters were also participating in the event under different identities.

For this event, they had devised a very thorough plan.

Tang Wulin was selected to be in the first group to be examined, and only those who passed the examination would be able to participate in the rest of the event.

Looking at these large soul devices, he couldn't help but recall back to the Shrek Academy enrolment examination. At the time, it had only been him, Gu Yue, Xu Xiaoyan, and Xie Xie. The four of them had worked together and completed the examination with flying colors.

The moment that he had been accepted into Shrek Academy was the happiest moment of his life; he had never been that happy since the departure of his parents.

At the time, Gu Yue had been by his side, yet now, she was the subject for this joust for a spouse event, the revered Silver Dragon Princess of the Spirit Pagoda, whereas he had become the Tang Sect Master and Sea God's Pavilion Master.

Everything had changed during the span of 10 years. Time had stripped them of their innocence and replaced it with pressure. How he wished he could return to his carefree childhood days!

He cast his gaze toward the rostrum, and even though it was concealed behind panels of one-way glass, he could still clearly sense that she was there. He reflexively stroked the silver dragon scale hanging in front of his chest, and his eyes became even brighter.

All of a sudden, the sky above the sports stadium dimmed as a black barrier appeared over the stadium, making it seem as if night had suddenly descended.