Hence, Sima Jinchi had already resigned himself to his fate; he would just have to follow Tang Wulin wherever he went.
After arriving at the Tang Sect"s underground world, both Sima Jinchi and A"Ruheng were also given a huge shock.
"The Tang Sect has an amazing place like this? This is right under Heaven Dou City! How do the authorities not know anything about this? This is insane! If the Tang Sect wanted to destroy a city, they would probably be able to do so even easier than Shrek City was destroyed!" A"Ruheng was truly stunned by this underground Tang Sect world.
Tang Wulin said in a serious voice, "Senior Disciple Brother, Brother Sima, you have to keep everything about this underground world strictly confidential. This is the Tang Sect"s biggest secret. Oh, by the way, His Majesties, the Amorous Douluo and Blood One have already pa.s.sed down the position of Tang Sect Master to me."
Sima Jinchi and A"Ruheng couldn"t help but exchange an astonished glance upon hearing this. They were both well aware of what this entailed.
The fact that the Tang Sect was able to become one of the four supporting pillars of the Blood G.o.d Legion was a testament to its status. Compared to the Spirit PaG.o.da, the Tang Sect flew more so under the radar, and its main source of income and expansion lay in its research and development, as well as production into soul tools.
Compared to the Spirit PaG.o.da, the Tang Sect had a longer history, and it had always shared an extremely close bond with Shrek Academy.
However, at the same time, the Tang Sect was more understated than the Spirit PaG.o.da, so no one knew just how powerful it was.
Back when the Tang Sect headquarters had been bombed, many people had thought that it was over for the Tang Sect. In particular, the Tang Sect had been constantly shrinking following the bombing, to the extent that it had almost disappeared from the public eye, but who could"ve imagined that the Tang Sect would have an underground world like this?
These ancient sects really couldn"t be judged by normal standards! Their wealth and power were simply unimaginable.
They all knew that Tang Wulin"s objective for returning to Heaven Dou City was to revive Shrek Academy in the near future, but at the same time, they knew just how arduous an undertaking that was going to be.
However, when they saw the unfathomable foundation that the Tang Sect had retained coupled with the fact that Tang Wulin was now the Tang Sect Master, they were finally beginning to be convinced that everything Tang Wulin wanted to achieve didn"t seem to be impossible after all.
Tang Wulin had contacted his friends via soul communicator, asking them to wait on the drill ground, so he took A"Ruheng and Sima Jinchi there directly. For everyone"s safety, he invited the Light Dark Douluo and the Holy Spirit Douluo as referees and for supervision purposes.
After all, at their levels of power, it wouldn"t be that easy to hold back during their sparring matches, so they could easily hurt one another if they weren"t careful.
By the time they arrived at the drill ground, the Holy Spirit Douluo was already sitting with her eyes closed on a chair at the edge of the drill ground, and she seemed to be meditating. She was still as beautiful as ever, but Tang Wulin couldn"t help but feel sad every time he saw her as he could no longer sense any vitality from her. She was dead on the inside.
Elder Long had also arrived, and she was saying something to Xu Lizhi in a quiet voice. Xu Lizhi was listening in an extremely animated and focused manner, and his chubby cheeks were jiggling slightly with his excitement.
Long Yeyue had accepted Xu Lizhi as her disciple following the Sea G.o.d Fate Match-making Convention and began to instruct him in his cultivation. However, the academy had been bombed not long after they had returned from the demonic island, so he didn"t actually get a chance to learn from Elder Long for a very long time. Now that he was reunited with his teacher, Xu Lizhi was naturally in extremely high spirits.
As soon as Sima Jinchi strode into the drill ground, he immediately sensed something, and he cast his gaze toward a certain direction to find a young woman appraising him while sitting on the ground with her legs crossed.
Their eyes met, and Sima Jinchi clearly felt a faint hint of pain spear through his mind. At the same time, he also immediately identified this young woman.
Wasn"t she the swordswoman who had given him quite a tough fight during the Star Battle Net Inter-federation Compet.i.tion? Was she one of Shrek"s Seven Monsters as well?
He had originally been very relaxed, just like A"Ruheng, but a hint of wariness welled up in his heart at the sight of Ye Xinglan.
Even though he had already reached the t.i.tled Douluo level, he wasn"t allowed to use his battle armor during this sparring match.
During their last battle, that woman had already attained a sword soul, so she would"ve most definitely become more powerful since then, and would not be an easy opponent to face.
If all of Shrek"s Seven Monsters were as powerful as her, then this three on six match wasn"t going to be easy at all!
Yue Zhengyu, Yuanen Yehui, Ye Xinglan, Xu Xiaoyan, and Xie Xie strode over to them, and Xu Lizhi also followed suit after excusing himself with Elder Long.
Xie Xie was the first to arrive before them, and he looked up at the man-mountain that was A"Ruheng in a slightly awe-struck manner. "You really are ma.s.sive, Strength King. You"re far more intimidating in person than on television."
"Hehe," A"Ruheng chuckled as he flexed his monstrous right bicep to Xie Xie.
Ye Xinglan"s gaze had been fixed solely on Sima Jinchi this entire time. "We meet again. Please enlighten me."
Sima Jinchi replied, "Looks like you"ve developed your sword soul quite well, la.s.s. Unfortunately for you, the gap between us can"t be bridged in such a short time."
Ye Xinglan didn"t say anything in response to this. Instead, she merely closed her eyes, and the sharp aura that she was releasing abruptly disappeared.
Sima Jinchi"s expressions changed slightly upon seeing this. She had learned to contain the aura of her sword! She was truly an exceptional prodigy!
"Everyone"s here, so let"s begin," Elder Long urged.
Only then did A"Ruheng and Sima Jinchi notice her, and both of them shuddered slightly as soon as they caught sight of her.
Elder Long seemed to be the epitome of a frail and ordinary old woman, and there wasn"t even a single trace of aura emanating from her body.
In contrast, A"Ruheng and Sima Jinchi were both t.i.tled Douluos, and they were quite powerful even among those of their cultivation rank. They couldn"t sense Elder Long"s aura, but they could sense that Elder Long was someone whom they had to look up to.
This was an instinctive reaction. Elder Long was too ordinary; so much so that she didn"t even seem to exist in their spiritual world, and it was exactly this that made her even more terrifying in their hearts. This was clearly an indication that her spiritual power far outstripped theirs! She most definitely possessed Spirit Domain realm spiritual power. Never did they think that such an unfathomably powerful being would exist in Shrek Academy or the Tang Sect.
Even without an introduction from Tang Wulin, A"Ruheng and Sima Jinchi took the initiative to extend respectful bows toward Elder Long. "We pay our respects to our esteemed senior."
Long Yeyue replied, "No need for formalities."
Tang Wulin turned toward everyone. All of the partic.i.p.ants in this sparring match were close friends of his, and the main objective of this first match was for everyone to familiarize themselves with one another"s powers and abilities.
Strictly speaking, Tang Wulin had actually lost in his match against Yue Zhengyu. He had underestimated just how much Yue Zhengyu had improved and refrained from unleas.h.i.+ng his true power from the get-go, thereby giving Yue Zhengyu the opportunity to destroy his blood soul fusion technique with his Holy Fusion Technique.
However, Tang Wulin certainly wasn"t going to make the same mistake twice. His expression remained as calm as ever, but fierce battle intent was already raging within his heart.
Through this sparring match, he wanted to see just how much his friends had grown.
Everyone backed away to open up some distance, and Light Dark Douluo Long Yeyue abruptly vanished before reappearing beside the Holy Spirit Douluo. She waved a hand through the air, and the protective barrier was activated to encompa.s.s the entire drill ground. Not only that, but a layer of black and white light had appeared outside the protective barrier; this was Elder Long"s power of light and darkness.