How would they benefit from widespread carnage and ma.s.s slaughter?
The Holy Spirit Cult was undoubtedly going to be the most powerful enemy he would have to face in the future, and even though he had his suspicions about the Spirit PaG.o.da, there was no concrete evidence at the moment to prove that the Spirit PaG.o.da had been involved in that bombing.
As such, one of his top priorities was to understand more about the Holy Spirit Cult. The most fearsome thing about the Holy Spirit Cult wasn"t its overall power. Instead, it was the cult"s ability to conceal themselves under a shroud of mystery.
A mysterious Holy Spirit Cult was the most terrifying thing. When you know nothing about your enemies, they could appear before you at any moment to become your most formidable adversaries.
The recent battle in the abyssal pa.s.sageway was a clear example of this; if it weren"t for the Blood G.o.d Legion"s fast reactions and Blood Nine"s willingness to sacrifice his own life by igniting his own flame of life, that surprise attack from those evil Soul Masters would"ve been enough to cause a ma.s.sive disaster.
But how could he learn more about the Holy Spirit Cult? Not only were all of those evil Soul Masters very powerful, they were also extremely loyal to their cause. Any evil Soul Masters who were detained or cornered were generally dead before they could be captured; they had all types of secret techniques that they could end their own lives with.
With that in mind, Tang Wulin"s brows furrowed tightly. There were still many things that he still had to learn, and seeing as his enemies were still in the shadows, he had to keep himself concealed for now as well.
Alternatively...
Tang Wulin"s eyes narrowed as he mapped out a course of action in his mind.
After entering Bright City, they had to find a place to settle down at first. Prior to traveling further into the continent, Tang Wulin also had to learn more about the general situation of the federation in the capital city. In particular, he had to ascertain the nature of the current situation following the federal parliamentary reform.
However, just as he was preparing to find a place to stay, he suddenly realized that there was an issue...
Tang Wulin wore an awkward look on his face as he turned to A"Ruheng, who was sitting in the back. "Senior Disciple Brother, do you have any money on you?"
"Money? What for?" A"Ruheng asked as he rubbed his own large bald head.
Tang Wulin then turned to Sima Jinchi, and the latter replied, "I have a few tens of thousands of federal credits."
Tang Wulin"s lips twitched upon hearing this. He didn"t have much money, either! He had failed to consider an extremely important issue. If it were just the three of them, then a few tens of thousands of federal credits would definitely be enough to support them on their journey. However, their squad consisted of 27 members, all of whom would require money for things like food and lodging!
This was definitely going to require quite a large sum of federal credits, and prior to doing anything else, he had to resolve their financial issues first. Furthermore, a vast amount of money would also be required to rebuild Shrek Academy in the future.
Tang Wulin ma.s.saged his own temples as these thoughts ran through his mind. He had always known that he would face a myriad of issues and pressures in his plight to revive Shrek Academy, but he didn"t think that the first issue that would befall him would be financial in nature.
After settling down in an ordinary hotel and having some lunch, Tang Wulin discovered that he had to further raise his projected expenses.
All of the members of the Blood Dragon Squad were cultivators at the primes of their lives, so their appet.i.tes were truly...
He was finally beginning to understand why his friends had been so flabbergasted when they had watched him eat in the past. He had to earn money! But how was he going to do that?
The first avenue of income that he thought of was forging. As a Sage Blacksmith, nothing would earn him income quicker than through forging. However, if he were to pursue this avenue, then there was a very good chance that his cover would be blown. After all, he was the youngest Sage Blacksmith on this entire continent by far.
Wait a minute...
Tang Wulin"s eyes suddenly lit up. During his recent period of cultivation in the Blood G.o.d Legion base, he had forgotten many of the skills that he had accrued in the past.
Thus, Tang Wulin called Sima Jinchi, A"Ruheng, Ma Shan, Jiang Wuyue, Long Yuxue, and Ling Wuyue into his room.
"I have to go out for a bit. In order to keep ourselves concealed as much as possible, it would be best for everyone to stay in the hotel and wait for me. During the time that I"m away..." Who was going to be in charge during his absence?
Tang Wulin"s gaze swept over everyone"s faces, and he was momentarily stumped. It was undoubtedly the case that A"Ruheng and Sima Jinchi were the most powerful beings present, but neither of them had good leaders.h.i.+p skills, and there was also a heated rivalry between them. As such, putting one of them in charge would definitely be a bad idea, and it would a minor miracle if they didn"t stir up some trouble.
Ma Shan was a suitable candidate, but A"Ruheng and Sima Jinchi were both far more powerful than him; would they be willing to conform to that arrangement?
"Who"s going to be in charge?" Ling Wuyue asked with a smile on her face. She had clearly identified the issue that was troubling Tang Wulin.
Tang Wulin nodded, and said, "Our Blood Dragon Squad needs a vice-captain that can be in charge during my absence. This is why I called all of you here; I wanted to ask which one of you would like to take on this role."
Ling Wuyue immediately shrugged in response. "Whoever it is, it"s not gonna be me."
Jiang Wuyue glanced at Ma Shan, and as Ma Shan"s past subordinate, he also immediately shook his head without any hesitation.
A"Ruheng turned to Sima Jinchi, and there were practically sparks flying between them as their eyes met. It looked as if a battle were about to break out between them at any moment.
Meanwhile, Ma Shan wore a troubled look on his face. These two were extremely powerful yet untamed, and he simply wasn"t confident enough in his own powers to keep the two of them in check during Tang Wulin"s absence.
Right at this moment, an unexpected voice rang out. "I"ll do it." Everyone"s attention was instantly drawn by this voice, and they turned in unison to appraise Long Yuxue, who was looking at Tang Wulin with a calm expression.
"I"ll be in charge during your absence."
"You?" Jiang Wuyue turned to Long Yuxue in a surprised manner.
Long Yuxue shot a glance at him. "Do you have a problem with that?"
Jiang Wuyue hurriedly shook his head.
Ling Wuyue chuckled, "Sister Yuxue wants to take on the role? That"s not a bad arrangement."
Ma Shan also remained silent as a faint smile appeared on his face.
Long Yuxue then turned toward A"Ruheng and Sima Jinchi.
The two of them immediately stopped glowering at one another and shuddered in unison as both of them reflexively recalled the scenes where Bear Lord had been struck by her heavy ion laser. That weapon was truly terrifying!
"Do either of you have any objections?" Long Yuxue asked in an indifferent voice.
Sima Jinchi had never been a good leader anyway, and he nodded in response. A"Ruheng also shrugged as he replied, "I don"t really mind."
"Alright, then it"s decided. Is that alright?" Her question was directed toward Tang Wulin.
Tang Wulin looked back at her with a surprised expression. He didn"t think that this issue would be resolved so easily by her, and he was forced to see her through new eyes.
Long Yuxue said to Tang Wulin, "If there aren"t any issues, then you can go and do what you want to do. Do you need any of us to go with you?"
Tang Wulin shook his head in response. "There"s no need for that; I"m just going out to gather some information, and I"ll be back very soon. Just get everyone to stay in the hotel, and if possible, try not to band together. Just lie low and wait for me to come back."
"Alright," Long Yuxue replied with a nod.
Ling Wuyue smiled, and said, "Looks like you"ve landed yourself a good housekeeper, Captain."
Tang Wulin turned to Long Yuxue, and she was also looking intent back at him. He wanted to thank her, but for some reason, he couldn"t bring himself to do so.
Everyone left, and only Long Yuxue remained.
"If you need us to do anything, then you can contact us at any time. Also, there"s something that I have to remind you of; all of the people in our Blood G.o.d Legion are well-rounded talents who are proficient in much more than just battle. If you need us to do something, then I"d advise you to delegate duties for everyone as soon as possible so we can get started right away. Otherwise, you"ll be wasting a valuable resource," Long Yuxue said to Tang Wulin.
Tang Wulin nodded, and replied, "You"re right, I"m also considering this matter. Thank you, Yuexue."
Long Yuxue shook her head in response. "There"s no need to thank me; I"m currently your subordinate, so I"m only doing my duty. If there"s nothing else you need, then I"ll take my leave now."
Tang Wulin looked on at her departing figure, and a sense of warmth flowed through his heart. It was good to see that there were companions by his side who were truly thinking for his best interests.
After exiting Tang Wulin"s room, a slightly forlorn look appeared on Long Yuxue"s face. Her personality simply made it impossible for her to give up on him, after all. She knew that it was impossible for anything to happen between them, but if she decided on something, then she had to see it through to the very end. After being shown the best option, she simply couldn"t settle for anything inferior. Perhaps she took after her father in this stubborn facet of her personality.
At the very least, I"m still able to remain by his side. Maybe someday...
......
Half an hour later, Tang Wulin left the hotel in a surrept.i.tious manner, and at this point, he had already completely changed his appearance.
At present, he appeared to be a middle-aged man in his forties with a completely unremarkable appearance. He had even modified his own body to be quite a bit shorter than before, which made him appear quite stocky and burly.
It was very difficult to notice him in a crowd with his current appearance, and this naturally a result of the disguise techniques he had learned on the demonic island.
The techniques that he had learned on the demonic island could even alter the color of his soul rings, let alone his outward appearance.
After emerging from the restaurant, Tang Wulin didn"t immediately head to the blacksmith a.s.sociation. Instead, he hailed a soul taxi and provided an address to the driver.
The taxi traveled for around half an hour before reaching the designated location, and Tang Wulin disembarked before raising his head to look up at the storefront before him.