The Legend of the Dragon King (Web Novel)
chapter-1063

Rank-98 and rank-99 appeared to differ only by one rank, but that one rank made a world of difference at their level as well.

Heartless Douluo turned his head to the side and looked toward him. "If the day truly comes, I have a request."

Zhang Huanyun said, "What is it?"

Heartless Douluo Cao Dezhi said with all apparent seriousness, "When Tang Wulin is rebuilding Shrek Academy, our army shall stand by his side."

Zhang Huanyun was stunned for a moment. "So you're saying that the army will help him to revive the academy?"

Cao Dezhi nodded quietly. "Shrek Academy has existed for twenty thousand years. How many qualified personnel has the academy cultivated for the Federation? How much of a legacy has the academy left for the Federation? How can we allow the academy to be destroyed just like that? Tang Wulin has an unshirkable duty as the leader of the current Shrek Seven Monsters."

Zhang Huanyun spoke with a deep voice, "Even so, you should also know that the Blood God Army is still under the jurisdiction of the army, no matter how independent it is. The Blood God Army was even established by Shrek Academy, the Tang Sect, the Battle God Hall and the Spirit Pagoda."

Cao Dezhi nodded and replied, "I know that. However, let me ask you this. If we were all that we had, do you think that we're capable of defeating an enemy as formidable as the abyssal plane in our lifetime?"

Zhang Huanyun asked in response, "So you're saying that the problem can be solved with just the addition of Tang Wulin?"

Cao Dezhi smiled calmly and spoke, "That's a possibility at least. Hence, I'm saying that he can play the most vital role when we take care of the abyssal plane issue once and for all. Then, when the Blood God Army is no longer burdened by this, the army can stand at Tang Wulin's side."

Zhang Huanyun frowned. "Old Cao, I understand your intentions and I know that more than half of our people are willing to support this. There won't be any problems with the officers that originated from your Tang Sect and Shrek Academy. Nevertheless, there are also officers from the Spirit Pagoda and the Battle God Hall among us after all, and I can't simply ignore them."

Cao Dezhi said, "I'm not asking for us to resist the Federation. Merely to support Tang Wulin by standing by him. At least, we support him on the surface so that he won't be treated unfairly as he proceeds to revive the academy. Could it be that such a small request is not doable?"

Zhang Huanyun shifted his gaze. "That's actually doable."

Cao Dezhi spoke indifferently. "The Blood God Army will always have something to do anyhow. The very purpose of our existence is to guard the continent. On the other hand, the Holy Spirit Cult is rampant as ever now and caused a series of tragedies on the continent. If the issue with the abyssal plane can be solved, do you think that they should then be made our primary targets?"

Zhang Huanyun answered without the slightest hesitation, "That is, of course, not a problem. I would've gone and taken care of them earlier if I wasn't still occupied here."

"Sure, it's a promise between us then." Cao Dezhi smiled but no longer spoke.

Without a doubt, he represented the Tang Sect in the Blood God Army. Blood Three was indeed the person with the highest position in the Blood God Army who originated from Shrek Academy. However, the total amount of officers from Shrek Academy was the highest amongst all. In a sense, Zhang Huanyun represented the officers from the Battle God Hall. Moreover, in the army, none were held in higher regard than Zhang Huanyun.

The Blood God Army was formed from four great forces, but in reality, everyone's original identities had faded slightly as they became part of the army as a whole.

As Blood One, Cao Dezhi was well aware of the responsibilities Tang Wulin would have to bear in the future. He wanted to shoulder a portion of that as best as he could in order to ease the burden placed on Tang Wulin by at least a little.

Holy Spirit Cult was definitely the greatest enemy Tang Wulin would be dealing with in the future. Moreover, the Holy Spirit Cult was a lethal enemy capable of using unscrupulous tactics. If the Blood God Army could lend a hand in managing this problem, then the effort would at least buy Tang Wulin a good deal of time to revive Shrek Academy.

"The competition is about to begin," said Blood Two suddenly.

The group's attention fell upon the large screen in front of them once again. On the screen, they saw the seats that surrounded the semifinals' competition arena were already filled. Anyone who owned a Star Dou Cabin and was willing to pay a premium was allowed to experience the competition in-person. Even though the ticket fee was expensive, they had sold out very early.

This semifinal match was even more exciting than the other. It was difficult to determine who would emerge victorious in a battle between the Saber Demon versus the Golden Dragon King. One was ranked second in this year's competition betting odds while the other was ranked third. It was definitely the focus of the attention.

There was no doubt that whichever of them was the winner would be qualified to challenge the person ranked first in the betting odds. On the other hand, there was no suspense as to the result of that person's semifinal match.

Tang Wulin closed his eyes as he sat in the waiting room. The Golden Dragon Spear was placed horizontally across his knees as he sensed the divine weapon. He felt that the spear was one with himself.

No trace of spear's consciousness had emerged whatsoever, but in his mind, the Golden Dragon Spear was already a part of his body and an integral part at that.

Tang Wulin rewatched the battle between Sima Jinchi and Ye Xinglan paying more attention than before. He had watched it numerous times.

The Gale Saber Demon Sima Jinchi's weapon was the Dragon Slaying Saber. In a sense, his peculiar weapon might even have a suppressive effect over Tang Wulin's martial soul. Of course, this would still depend on whether his Dragon Slaying Saber could actually outmatch the Golden Dragon Spear. Tang Wulin might have some trouble there.

Tang Wulin was certainly at a disadvantage due to his cultivation base. There was no doubt about this after the earlier match had already shown that the Gale Saber Demon had an eight-ringed Soul Douluo cultivation base.

Tang Wulin was only at rank-65 at present. Even though he had the double cores but there was still some disparity between him and the opponent in terms of soul power.

However, this was not the most important part. The key element was the comprehension of one's weapon. The Gale Saber Demon Sima Jinchi already possessed his own Sabersoul. His Sabersoul was ferocious and violent, as mad as a hatter. Ye Xinglan's newly formed Swordsoul lost to his without being able to resist at all.

So, Tang Wulin took Ye Xinglan's place today to fight against Sima Jinchi. He had yet to fully understand his own Spearsoul and his spear's consciousness could only be said to be present at most. This was the real disparity between them. It was also the reason why most people did not think that he could achieve victory in this round of the competition.

The Gale Sabre Demon Sima Jinchi's fighting capacity was too powerful. He once easily defeated a mecha battalion using his own power alone without donning his battle armor.

A mecha battalion's organizational system was comprised of one hundred reinforced mechas with the battalion commander being a black mecha. Sima Jinchi was but a seven-ringed Soul Sage at the time. The entire process was akin to breaking a dead tree branch for him, with predictable results.

One could only imagine how unusual his battle methods were.

However, Tang Wulin was very confident regardless. Defeating this opponent would certainly allow him to deepen his comprehension of the Golden Dragon Spear and become an important part of his cultivation.

Thus, his entire person had already entered a zen state at this exact moment. He was completely immersed in comprehending the Golden Dragon Spear. Due to the stress of his upcoming match with a formidable opponent, he was drawing out his potential.

The greater the enemy he confronted, the stronger and more powerful he would become. There could even be a breakthrough for him as this seemed to have already become an inevitable event in Tang Wulin's cultivation history!

He had just stood up slowly when the service staff called on him. He held the Golden Dragon Spear in his hand as he walked out of the waiting room in great strides. His eyes were glimmering with a faint golden color. The silhouette of Old Tang flashed before him over and over again in his mind. It was always that moment when he launched the Thousand Accusing Fingers.

Deafening cheering sounds caressed his ears like a gust of wind powerful enough to get one's blood pumping. However, Tang Wulin was unaffected. The external world's sounds could not enter his mind while he remained in a calm, zen and empty state. He could sense his bloodline power quietly flowing in the Golden Dragon Spear.

On the opposite side, Gale Saber Demon Sima Jinchi had already walked out to the arena as well. The Dragon Slaying Saber was obviously his martial soul, yet it was already held in his hand, placed on his shoulder as he walked out. The rules did not restrict him from maintaining the presence of his martial soul as long as he did not unleash his soul rings.

Sima Jinchi's eyes could not help but reveal his eagerness as he watched Tang Wulin stride out with his tall and burly figure.

'This is the boy, huh? The leader of the Shrek Seven Monsters whose cultivation base is above Zhengyu's. He's their captain?"

Other than Tang Wulin's companions, he was most aware of Tang Wulin's identity out of all the participating contestants of this competition.

The Southern Army Corps was operated by the Holy Clan. They were such a monolithic whole that even the Federation could not poke its nose into their business. Even though Sima Jinchi was not a popular person in the army, he was deeply trusted by the old regimental commander. This was the reason why he was entrusted with the knowledge which other people were unaware of.

'He is Yue Zhengyu's companion of almost the same age, yet he managed to advance to this step. His natural talents are no trivial matter.'

Sima Jinchi had also watched Tang Wulin's match earlier. He greatly admired Tang Wulin's explosive battle method. Moreover, Tang Wulin had a wide range of explosive skills, so he had left a profound impression. Of particular note was his ability to turn defeat into victory in the end when he defeated Yuanen Yehui. That outburst was extremely intense.