No matter how much latent potential Tang Wulin had, he was still only a young man in his early twenties. His powers may have earned him some recognition, but would he really be able to handle the enormous pressure on his shoulders and manage the Tang Sect appropriately?
There was no one to answer that question for him, but nonetheless, this was the decision that had been made by the two Tang Sect Douluo Palace Masters. Furthermore, after becoming the Tang Sect Master, Tang Wulin had immediately been sent off to the two neighboring empires for negotiations on behalf of the Tang Sect. This was undoubtedly the most important matter that the Tang Sect had had to attend to in many years, so this was a clear indication of just how much the higher-ups of the Tang Sect trusted this young man.
Of course, they were unaware of the fact that the Heartless Douluo had only made the decision after witnessing Tang Wulin being blessed by the plane. To put it in simpler terms, the fortune of the entire planet was with Tang Wulin.
It would not be incorrect to describe him as the child of destiny, and if they were to miss out on him due to their reluctance to bestow upon him greater responsibilities, then they would definitely be left ruing their decision.
Don"t forget that Tang Wulin was also a part of Shrek Academy. Even with how close Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect were, they still weren"t the same organization. In these tumultuous times, Shrek Academy had made Tang Wulin the new Sea G.o.d"s Pavilion Master, so the Tang Sect naturally had to offer him a corresponding position. Otherwise, he would inevitably be more inclined to side with the academy, even if it was only on a subconscious basis.
En Ci closed his eyes again. Tang Wulin was now no longer someone who could simply be killed off. The empire couldn"t afford to sour its relations.h.i.+p with the Tang Sect over just a single person, so they could only leave him be and watch as he continued to develop. It was undoubtedly the case that he would become a Limit Douluo in the future, and with such a young Limit Douluo among their ranks, the Tang Sect"s future would be all but a.s.sured for at least the next century.
As he was discussing the empire"s affairs with his officials, Dai Tianling had also been keeping an eye on Tang Wulin. The white-robed Tang Wulin was quite a sight to behold, but there was no powerful aura emanating from his body.
Dai Tianling couldn"t help but internally praise him for his handsome looks and steadfast demeanor. In particular, it was very remarkable that Tang Wulin was able to remain so calm and collected in such a high-pressure setting.
Only after two hours did the proceedings conclude, and at this point, many of the officials were beginning to look rather weary, but Dai Tianling was still as energetic as ever.
The officials departed, and he strode down from the platform, followed closely by En Ci.
"My apologies for making you wait for so long, Sect Master Tang." The serious expression on Dai Tianling"s face had been replaced by a very warm smile.
"It"s only right that you prioritize your empire"s affairs first above all else, Your Majesty. Do you need some rest before we begin?" Tang Wulin asked with a smile. His demeanor was quite respectful, but not overtly so.
Dai Tianling chuckled, "I"m no longer a young man, but I"m not old enough to require a midday nap just yet. Come, let"s go take a seat in the rear palace."
It seemed that Dai Tianling"s att.i.tude was quite a positive one. At the very least, he didn"t seem to be opposed to Tang Wulin.
The Smiling Douluo smiled, and said, "If even you"re no longer a young man, then what are Brother En Ci and I supposed to be?"
En Ci glanced at the Smiling Douluo before countering, "Don"t compare yourself to me; we"re not the same age."
Indeed, En Ci was over 30 years older than Hu Jie.
Hu Jie chuckled, "You may be older than me, but there"s a decent chance that you"ll live longer than me."
Tang Wulin was rather surprised by the casual interaction taking place between Hu Jie and Enci; it seemed that they were on very good terms with one another.
En Ci shook his head in a resigned manner, and didn"t say anything further.
Dai Tianling chuckled, "I truly envy the friends.h.i.+p between you two. I may be the emperor, but what I wouldn"t give for a good friend that I can confide in. Sect Master Tang, please follow me."
Tang Wulin and the others were led to the rear palace by Dai Tianling, where tea and snacks had already been prepared for them. The rear palace was just as grandiose and spectacular, and Dai Tianling sat down on the main seat. En Ci took a seat by his side again, while Tang Wulin and Dai Yueyan sat across from him.
Dai Yun"er was still standing behind Dai Tianling, and she hadn"t uttered even a single word to Tang Wulin, but her eyes had never strayed away from him, either.
Dai Tianling smiled, and asked, "Are you well rested after your journey, Sect Master Tang?"
Tang Wulin replied, "I"m very well-rested, thank you for asking, Your Majesty."
"I"m well aware of the purpose of your trip, Sect Master Tang. I"ve seen all of the conditions proposed, and most of them are very reasonable. The Star Luo Empire has also always been very grateful for the support of the Tang Sect, but there are some conditions that I wish to negotiate."
"Oh? Which conditions are you referring to, Your Majesty?" Tang Wulin asked in a calm manner.
Dai Tianling smiled, and said, "Setting that aside for now, do you have any additional requests on top of these conditions, Sect Master Tang?"
Tang Wulin"s heart stirred upon hearing this, and he replied, "Our Tang Sect only hopes to prevent this war and the loss of innocent lives. We encountered members of the Holy Spirit Cult in the Dou Spirit Empire, and they will stand to benefit the most from a war as they can use all death and suffering to their advantage. The Holy Spirit Cult has become more and more active of late, and they"ve been responsible for several major terrorist attacks in the federation. It"s quite clear that they"re planning something big, and now that we can confirm that the Spirit PaG.o.da is colluding with them, that makes things even more troublesome. Hence, we can"t allow them to benefit from this war."
Dai Tianling"s brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this. "Are you implying that members of the Holy Spirit Cult have infiltrated our empire as well?"
Tang Wulin nodded without any hesitation. "That"s for sure. They"re hiding in the shadows and waiting for the commencement of the war. The higher the death toll, the more they"ll benefit, and the Holy Spirit Cult will only be more powerful than we imagine. I"ve encountered two of the Holy Spirit Douluo"s four heavenly monarchs, and one of them is a rank 97 Hyper Douluo, while the other is at rank 98 soul power. Furthermore, there are at least five Evil Soul Masters more powerful than them in the Holy Spirit Cult, including the Blood Demon that we were made aware of in the Dou Spirit Empire."
At the mention of the Blood Demon, a cold look crept into Tang Wulin"s eyes, and his calm aura s.h.i.+fted ever so slightly. The change lasted only for an instant, but En Ci still caught onto it, and a hint of astonishment appeared in his eyes.
Tang Wulin had hidden his powers very well earlier, and even he had failed to detect the fact that Tang Wulin had already reached the Spirit Domain realm.
This discovery struck En Ci with a hint of incredulity. It had only been a few years since he had last been on the Star Luo Continent! How much spiritual power had he possessed at the time? How had he made such astonis.h.i.+ng progress in just these short few years?
Even the Smiling Douluo had only recently reached the Spirit Domain realm and was yet to materialize a spiritual domain. Could it be that this young man had encountered some kind of miraculous opportunity? En Ci was suddenly struck by the realization that he had to reevaluate this young man.
It was quite clear that he was here, not just for his potential, but also for the level of power he had already achieved.
This wasn"t the first time that Dai Tianling had heard of the Holy Spirit Cult, but it was still a relatively unfamiliar organization to the Star Luo Empire. This was because the Holy Spirit Cult still hadn"t made any major moves in the Star Luo Empire, so they hadn"t really made their presence known. Furthermore, it was not a bad thing for the Star Luo Empire that the Holy Spirit Cult was acting as a thorn in the side of the Douluo Federation. Of course, that was only under the premise that the threat of the Holy Spirit Cult didn"t spread to the Star Luo Empire as well.