"What did they say?" Tang Wulin asked in a curious manner.
Wu Zhangkong replied, "I can only tell you that you were very fortunate compared to Wu Siduo and the others. The seniors have attributed the fate of the academy to a lack of power on our part, so they"re going to make their training even more rigorous."
Even more rigorous? Tang Wulin shuddered upon hearing this. He was suddenly very thankful toward the Atlas Douluo. Thank heavens the Altas Douluo had sent them to the demonic island to undergo their military training already. Otherwise, they would be plunged into an even more horrendous situation!
"Teacher Wu, I"m going to see Elder Long now."
"Alright, go on. Make sure to look after yourself during your trip to the other two continents." Wu Zhangkong"s cold eyes were tinged with hints of concern. In his eyes, Tang Wulin was no longer just a disciple but also a brother of sorts.
Wu Zhangkong had watched him grow and develop over the years, and he was extremely gratified to see that Tang Wulin had caught up to him in power.
During their last sparring match, he hadn"t actually used his full power, and he had forfeited the match to instill Tang Wulin with greater confidence. Tang Wulin certainly hadn"t disappointed him, either, and with the rapid improvements Tang Wulin had made, Wu Zhangkong truly wasn"t confident in his ability to defeat him.
After entering deeper into the underground world and making use of a special access card, Tang Wulin arrived at the place where Elder Long was cultivating in seclusion, upon which he was immediately greeted by the sound of a dull rumbling dragon"s roar.
His Golden Dragon King bloodline instantly began to churn in his veins, and he couldn"t help but be in awe of Elder Long"s unfathomable powers.
"Is that you, Wulin? Come in." Long Yeyue"s voice rang out beside Tang Wulin"s ears.
"Yes!"
Long Yeyue was seated on a futon, and much to Tang Wulin"s surprise, she currently appeared to only be around 20 years of age. Her long hair spilled down her shoulders, and her exquisitely beautiful features were complemented by the incessant dragon"s roars to create a mystifying and alluring combination.
"Are you very surprised to see me like this?" Long Yeyue smiled before heaving a faint sigh as she said, "I"m no longer able to maintain my youthful appearance as that would expend more of my life force. Hence, the Long Yeyue you see all the time is a shriveled up old woman. Only during my cultivation when I"m stimulated by my soul power can my physical functions return to what they were like in my youth."
Her voice was tinged with a faint hint of sorrow, as well as reminiscence and yearning toward her younger days.
"You"re still young, Elder Long. There are many spirit items in the Tang Sect"s Ice Fire Yin Yang Well that can enhance one"s life force; how about..." Tang Wulin suggested.
Long Yeyue shook her head in response. "I"ve already been to the Ice Fire Yin Yang Well once during my younger days, and one has to learn to be content with what they"re given. On top of that, this is a clause of the agreement between the academy and the Tang Sect; even those chosen by the academy can only visit the Ice Fire Yin Yang Well once in their lifetimes with no exceptions. This is a rule, and rules must be upheld. Otherwise, the Ice Fire Yin Yang Well would"ve already ceased to exist."
Tang Wulin was struck by a faint hint of guilt upon hearing this. Come to think of it, he had taken away all of the most valuable elements of the Ice Fire Yin Yang Well! The six Great Beasts were still with him, and one of the reasons why he hadn"t panicked when confronted by Na Nali was exactly because of their presence.
In the worst-case scenario, he would just have to release them to help him in battle. Each of them possessed t.i.tled Douluo level power, and even if they couldn"t defeat Na Nali together, the Great Beasts would at least be able to protect him.
It was just that doing so would expose his ident.i.ty, and he would immediately become a target of the highest priority for the Holy Spirit Cult. Thankfully, Gu Yuena had saved him from that sticky situation.
"What have you come back for? Have you encountered some difficulties? You"re not someone to cower in the face of hards.h.i.+ps, so I"m very curious about why you"ve returned," Long Yeyue said in a calm voice, waiting patiently for his explanation.
A wry smile appeared on his face in response. Zang Xin really had a.s.signed him quite a tall order!
"I have indeed encountered some difficulties in Skysea City..." Thus, he gave Elder Long a brief recount of the incident where the united fleet at Skysea City had been struck by that ninth-grade soul missile.
Long Yeyue had constantly been in seclusion this entire time in order to conserve her energy and extend her own lifespan, so she wasn"t able to keep up with news in the outside world.
No one else here was aware of the fact that Tang Wulin and the others had traveled to Skysea City, so no one filled Long Yeyue in on these matters.
Tang Wulin paid special attention to Elder Long"s expression when he mentioned Boundless Ocean Douluo Chen Xinjie, and sure enough, her expression did indeed change upon hearing this name. It was only a very minute change, but Tang Wulin had still been able to detect it.
Zang Xin really hadn"t been kidding about these two!
"Chen Xinjie! Hmph, that stubborn old mule!" The dragon"s roars around her suddenly grew louder, and the invisible might they were giving off caused a layer of golden light to appear involuntarily over Tang Wulin"s body. This was the pride that his Golden Dragon King bloodline was reflexively displaying in the face of a threat from another source of dragon"s might.
Long Yeyue shot a glance at Tang Wulin. "That blabbermouth Zang Xin must"ve told you something, right?"
Tang Wulin faltered slightly before nodding with a wry smile. He couldn"t cover for Zang Xin at a time like this.
Long Yeyue harrumphed coldly, "I really should rip out his tongue! You came back here to find me clearly because you know that I"m familiar with that old fart, Chen Xinjie, and no one else beside you aside from Zang Xin knows about this. He didn"t dare to come and see me in person, so he sent you, right? I"m not going to let him off easy for dragging up my history like this! Let"s go to Skysea City."
Light Dark Douluo Long Yeyue rose to her feet and made her way out of the room as she spoke.
Tang Wulin didn"t think that she would agree to this so quickly, and he was quite taken aback. He naturally followed Long Yeyue out of the room, and he looked on as her black hair slowly turned white, and her figure gradually became more hunched over while her aura took on a jaded element.
Tang Wulin was struck by a sense of sorrow at the sight of this.
Elder Long was already at such an old age, yet she still had to put herself on the front lines for the sake of Shrek Academy; this was all because their generation wasn"t powerful enough! He reflexively clenched his fists, and raging battle intent welled up in his heart.
He had to be able to support Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect on his own as quickly as possible so the seniors of the older generation could rest and enjoy what remained of their lives.
After getting on the soul train again, Tang Wulin"s heart was completely devoid of the heavy feeling that had befallen him during this entire journey to Heaven Dou City. With Elder Long by his side, he didn"t have to be afraid even if the most powerful being in the current world were to attack him.
He and Elder Long had both put on simple disguises, and Long Yeyue had inspected his body. Sure enough, there really was a soundwave tracking mark left behind on his body by Na Nlali, and Long Yeyue taught him a trick that involved an alternate utilization of his spiritual power, thereby allowing him to cleanse himself of that mark. If he were to encounter similar issues in the future, he would be able to take care of it on his own.
Long Yeyue rested on the train with her eyes closed the entire journey, and her aura appeared to be extremely stable, but it was clearly a little too stable to be normal. It was most likely the case that she was having to steel herself in antic.i.p.ation for her upcoming encounter with Chen Xinjie.
At a time like this, Tang Wulin knew that it was best for him to remain silent, and he also trusted that Elder Long would be more than capable of making her own decisions.
Seeing as she had agreed to come to Skysea City with him, she clearly had confidence that she would be able to iron out the issues that he was facing, and this was quite encouraging to him.
Now, all he could hope for was that a positive outcome would be reached. It was quite clear that Elder Long didn"t want to see Chen Xinjie; she was only swallowing her pride and going against her will to travel to Skysea City for the sake of Shrek Academy"s future, as well as to prevent this war from taking place.