From the initial clash to being suppressed by En Ci"s domain, followed by a sequence of retaliation; throughout this entire process, Tang Wulin had constantly been bordering on his physical limits.
He had taken En Ci"s attack, withstood the enormous impact, then unleashed a devastating retaliation. He had used his Golden Blood Dragon domain, Dragonslaying Saber, Millennium White Clouds; he had given everything he had to give, and in the end, he had finally heard the voice that he hadn"t even dared to imagine that he would be able to hear.
En Ci stood on the spot, looking as if he had lost his soul. He was also panting, but his panting stemmed more so from fear.
Of course, even though his abilities had been temporarily sealed, he would still have been able to withstand Tang Wulin"s attacks with his Limit Douluo level powers.
However, Tang Wulin wasn"t even attacking him; he was warping time instead. En Ci instantly realized what Tang Wulin was doing. He could retaliate following Tang Wulin"s attack and even kill him on the spot, but he could clearly sense that if he were to be struck by Tang Wulin"s attack, then his life force would definitely sharply decline. At the very least, he would lose three years of his lifespan.
For a young man, perhaps that wouldn"t be too daunting a prospect, but for an old man like himself who was standing at the pinnacle of the continent, three years was far too precious to be thrown away.
The Golden Blood Dragon domain had been a pleasant surprise for Tang Wulin, the Dragonslaying Saber was the "present" that Tang Wulin had prepared for En Ci, but Millennium White Clouds was the true key that gave him a chance of victory.
Everything he had done during this battle was building up to an opportunity where he would be able to unleash Millennium White Clouds.
If En Ci had access to his suit of battle armor, there was no way that Tang Wulin would"ve been able to use his Millennium White Clouds in its complete form with such a ma.s.sive power disparity between them.
If En Ci had access to his martial soul, then he"d have countless ways of escaping out of the scope of Millennium White Clouds.
However, when he had nothing at his disposal, he didn"t dare to face the test of time.
In the face of such a terrifying threat, he had made a split-second decision to be selfish. This was only to be expected, and it was simply a part of human nature.
Even if Dai Tianling had the ability to make the decision in En Ci"s stead, he would"ve also conceded the match. Three years of En Ci"s life was more important than the glory of the empire, particularly when a war was imminent.
The entire stadium had fallen deathly silent.
It was over. The final battle armor match of the Trial of Five G.o.ds was over, and Tang Wulin was the victor!
He had done it! He had defeated an entire empire on his own through this Trial of Five G.o.ds!
No one had been optimistic about his chances, not even his own friends, yet he had secured a complete and comprehensive victory. This victory brought glory to the Tang Sect and hope to Shrek Academy.
Tang Wulin had never been battling on his own; there were countless people supporting him from the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy. Even here in the Star Luo Empire, he already had millions, if not tens of millions of supporters.
He had won! He had secured victory in the mecha, soul spirit, Soul Master, weapons, and battle armor matches, racking up five victories and creating an eternal legend.
In that instant, he had become a legend of the Star Luo Empire, as well as a legend of the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy. His name was going to be known by everyone across the three continents and four seas!
All of the hards.h.i.+ps and adversity that he had suffered through during his youth; none of that seemed to be important now.
He had defeated an entire empire!
In that instant, he seemed to have transformed into a giant beacon, and even his blood essence was swelling at a rapid rate.
Tang Wulin slowly raised his Golden Dragon Spear in a determined manner, then released the Divine Atlas Spear in his other hand before also raising it high up into the air.
The Tang Sect"s glory was eternal, and Shrek Academy"s return certain!
Long live the Tang Sect! Long live Shrek Academy!
Tears began to well up in Tang Wulin"s eyes. Regardless of how calm he had been before the Trial of Five G.o.ds, regardless of how simple the goals he had set for himself were, only he was aware of just how much pressure he had been carrying up to this point. He was the leader of the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy, and all of the pressure that came with those responsibilities were suddenly lifted, leaving him completely ecstatic and buoyant.
He hadn"t brought shame to the Tang Sect, and he had certainly proven himself worthy to be one of Shrek"s Seven Monsters.
He was the Tang Sect Master and the Sea G.o.d"s Pavilion Master. From this day forth, he would be truly worthy of those t.i.tles.
Cheers suddenly began to ring out.
"Legend!" Someone suddenly yelled, and the Smiling Douluo was unable to contain his own emotions any longer.
He abruptly rose to his feet, completely disregarding Dai Tianling"s feelings as he injected his soul power into a thunderous roar that echoed throughout every single corner of the sports stadium. "Legend!"
"Legend! Legend! Legend!" A tsunami of cheers rang out while Tang Wulin stood at the center of the compet.i.tion platform, raising his twin spears aloft.
In the Spirit PaG.o.da booth, Zhang Geyang wore an expression of thunderous race. He smashed the table beside him before storming out of the booth in a fit of fury, leaving only Gu Yuena behind. She was standing in front of the window, staring silently at the radiant figure standing at the center of the compet.i.tion platform.
This was her man, the man of her heart. She knew him better than anyone else, so she was more aware than everyone else for just how difficult it would"ve been for him to get to this point.
He had spent countless days and nights cultivating conscientiously, battling against his own lackl.u.s.ter apt.i.tude.
No matter how many hards.h.i.+ps were thrown at him, he was always able to get up again.
He hadn"t always been outstanding; he had to fight for everything that he currently had.
Was he really happy? She knew that he had virtually no happy experiences. He was constantly forging ahead, and his goal had transitioned from reuniting his family, to reviving the academy, to leading the Tang Sect on a resurgence. One heavy responsibility after another fell onto his shoulders, but he refused to be crushed under their enormous weight.
He was truly the pride of the heavens.
He hadn"t grown conceited or complacent after the ruler of the plane had chosen him. Instead, he only worked harder and shouldered more responsibilities.
He had secured victory in the Trial of Five G.o.ds. Regardless of what the process had been like, regardless of how many excuses the Star Luo Empire spouted, the fact of the matter was that he was the final victor.
He was a true legend!
In a corner of the sports stadium, there was a woman with tears streaming down her face as she murmured to herself, "Do you see this, Father? This is the man I chose. Do you understand now? You were wrong from the very beginning. You were too prideful and underestimated him. He"s a hero, and now, he"s a legend. As your daughter, I need to do everything in my power to keep this legend in our empire!"
En Ci departed from the compet.i.tion platform with a wry smile on his face.
His plan had completely failed, and he had been forced to concede the match in the end. In the instant that he had conceded, he knew that the halo of mystique and invincibility around him had been lost.
Other people could concede, but he couldn"t. From this day forth, he would no longer be seen as the most powerful being in the empire.
Even though he hadn"t actually been struck by the Millennium White Clouds, he seemed to have aged significantly in that moment. As he strode down from the platform, he stumbled slightly and almost fell over.