Chapter 535

Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong came to Spirit Ice Plaza this time, naturally not just to see the wedding venue.

After they casually walked around two circles, they entered the tallest building, whose plaque read Monster Hotel, one of the highest-grade hotels in Shrek City, whose backer was even someone from the Sea God Pavilion.

After telling the counter attendant the room number, they were allowed to go all the way to the top floor.

Waiting for them there was a youth and many officials.

The youth looked about fifteen, but his demeanor showed a steadiness not seen in ordinary fifteen-year-olds.

Seeing the two approach, he was momentarily stunned, then, as if thinking of something, he asked:

"Could it be that you two are..."

Under the influence of the cognitive interference wristband, Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong appeared to him as two utterly ordinary people with no outstanding traits.

Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong had no intention of teasing him; they exchanged a smile and together removed the soul guide devices they wore.

Only then did they, in these people's eyes, return to their original appearance.

The youth instantly showed delight, saying: "I am Dai Yueyan, the Fourth Prince of the Star Net Empire; we have been waiting for you for a long time, welcome."

"Mm."

The one who actively responded was Huo Yutong.

Both she and Tang Wulin knew that these people from the Star Net Empire were actually looking for her.

She asked: "Why has the Star Net Empire sent people to find me? Is there some need?"

Her tone was quite unfriendly, for she felt complicated about these people in her heart.

As the youth introduced himself, his name is Dai Yueyan, the current Fourth Prince of the Star Net Empire and one of the sons most favored by Emperor Dai Tianling of the Star Net Empire.

This time he came to the Sun-Moon Federation representing the Star Net Empire's officialdom to meet Huo Yutong, the nominal ancestor of the Star Net Empire.

Of course, Dai Yueyan also has some private motives; his claim to the throne is not yet fully stabilized, and if he had the support of Spirit Ice Douluo Huo Yutong, he believes no one would dare question him, making his succession to the next emperor a certainty.

Moreover, he himself really wants to meet this seemingly harmless girl; the descent of an ancestor to his side is unprecedented, and Dai Yueyan, being under fifteen and still possessing some youthful nature, is quite interested in such an interesting matter.

However, for Huo Yutong, meeting these people from the Star Net Empire makes her mood complicated.

She still hasn't figured out why, ten thousand years ago, the Spirit Ice Douluo, for what reason, not only gave up revenge but also allowed the Dai family to regain the imperial throne of the Star Net Empire.

Clearly, in her impression, Xu Jiawei was also a great ruler, the emperor did a decent job, Dai Hao, though she disliked him, was undoubtedly loyal; how could these two have staged a coup? Huo Yutong finds it hard to believe.

Could it be that she herself, ten thousand years ago, actively helped Dai Hao seize power and forced him onto the throne? Huo Yutong believes she would never do such a thing, even if beaten to death.

Unfortunately, the truth of what happened ten thousand years ago is likely buried deep in the river of history; fortunately, with Tang Wulin present, things will not turn out as recorded in history.

Under Huo Yutong's displeased gaze, Dai Yueyan was obviously at a loss, but he still tried to force a smile and said:

"It's not like that; rather, we, the Star Net Empire, have come this time to offer you our most sincere blessings."

"Oh, then thank you very much."

Huo Yutong replied indifferently, gazing at the few elders following behind Dai Yueyan.

"You brought only these few as guards; aren't you afraid of danger?"

Hearing her remark that seemed to have hidden meaning, the several elders instantly tensed, their soul power fluctuating, ready at any moment to protect their own Fourth Prince.

However, Dai Yueyan gave them a glance, signaling them to relax, then gave Huo Yutong a helpless smile and said:

"There's no way; the Star Net Empire is no longer what it was ten thousand years ago, the gap with the Sun-Moon Federation is enormous; if you really remember the affection from ten thousand years ago, why not come here to be enshrined? We guarantee you'll be satisfied with the treatment."

"... Then forget it."

Huo Yutong lightly shook her head, gave the elders behind Dai Yueyan another cold glance, and secretly sighed.

She indeed has no fondness for the White Tiger Lineage, but she feels no aversion toward the Star Net Empire.

Dai Yueyan, a proper Fourth Prince, this trip still represents the Star Net Empire meeting her in enemy territory; among his entourage, only one is a Super Douluo, whereas when he previously met Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong in the Federation, the several Limit Douluo-level powerhouses present made this huge contrast leave her feeling deeply sighing.

Ten thousand years ago, although the Star Net Empire's overall national strength was undoubtedly less than that of the Ri Yue Di Guo, if speaking purely of soul master strength, not even the Ri Yue Di Guo, let alone the Ri Yue Di Guo combined with the other two empires, could necessarily gain an advantage over the Star Net Empire.

As a result, now that times have changed, the Star Net Empire not only lacks soul guide technology, but even its soul master experts have been surpassed by the Sun-Moon Federation.

Such all-encompassing suppression truly exceeded her expectations.

Dai Yueyan gave a bitter smile.

Rumors say the relationship between Spirit Ice Douluo and the Dai family is not good; originally he thought it was a joke, but after truly contacting Huo Yutong, he cannot deny that this seems to be the fact.

He once fantasized about using the 'blood is thicker than water' approach to win over Huo Yutong and her lover to the Star Net Continent; now it seems unlikely.

As long as he can improve her attitude toward the Star Net Empire, even a little, that would already be a great success.

He gave a glance to the officials beside him; they instantly understood, took out a large item from the storage soul conductor device, and stepped forward to kneel on one knee.

Dai Yueyan explained to the doubtful Huo Yutong: "We heard you're interested in this era's soul guide device technology, so we brought a nine-level soul guide device; even in the Federation there is no related manufacturing technique, hoping you will accept it."

His explanation indeed sparked Huo Yutong's interest; she looked at the soul guide device, released her spiritual detection, and swept over it.

As expected, the Star Net Empire had indeed applied anti-disassembly technology to this soul guide device to prevent technology leakage.

However, their understanding of spiritual detection was still unclear; Huo Yutong merely casually scanned with her spiritual detection and roughly grasped the general structure of this nine-level soul guide device.

It must be said that, as a gift from the Star Net Empire, this nine-level soul guide device is indeed sincere.

Although called a nine-level soul guide device, its precision and the density of its core formation are, to Huo Yutong, extremely rare; if the materials were of higher grade and the technique more refined, it might even be evaluated as a ten-level soul guide device.

She also immediately saw its effect: it is extremely simple and crude, merely a soul guide ray launcher.

However, a soul guide ray of this level would likely be hard for ordinary soul masters below the Limit Douluo to withstand.

Considering the gap in soul guide technology between the Star Net Empire and the Sun-Moon Federation, this soul guide device is probably one of their top achievements.

But to Huo Yutong, this thing is somewhat of a rib.

For her, this pure attack-type soul guide device, the soul guide ray, is of little help; after all, she herself can release attacks far stronger than this, and in her view, the value of this nine-level ray is even less than that of the hidden identity wristband.

As for research value, the Tang Sect possesses many higher-level techniques that she is free to study; she has no need to learn from this.

Therefore, after a brief consideration, Huo Yutong shook her head at Dai Yueyan and said: "No need; my demand for soul guide devices is actually not as great as the rumors suggest, merely a pure hobby."

"This..."

Dai Yueyan's face instantly turned very ugly.

Whether the soul tool is truly just a hobby for Huo Yutong is not important; what matters is that her refusal of this soul tool itself carries great symbolic meaning.

If one really wanted to interpret it, one could deduce this explosive piece of information: the Spirit Ice Douluo unintentionally seeking friendly relations with the Star Luo Empire. His primary mission this time coming to the Sun Moon Federation is to get on as good terms as possible with Huo Yutong; if he cannot even deliver this gift, let alone consolidating his claim to the throne, he might instead draw criticism from all sides, and his domestic standing could even fall rather than rise.

Fortunately, the competition for the Star Luo Empire's throne is no longer as brutal as it once was; otherwise, if he made such a serious mistake, he would very likely be targeted to death by his rivals for the throne.

In ancient times, the White Tiger lineage's succession struggles were extremely fierce and bloody, even requiring life-and-death combat or at least drawing blood to determine the next heir; the throne had to be inherited by the strongest person among the younger generation.

This rule was only gradually abolished after the Dai family once again became the imperial clan of the Star Luo Empire and led the entire nation's migration to the present Star Luo Continent; now the competition for the Star Luo Empire's throne has become quite civilized, requiring male members of the royal family to get along peacefully and compete fairly.

Currently, the Star Luo Empire's most outstanding prince is Dai Yueyan; if nothing unexpected happens, his chance of becoming the next emperor is over eighty percent, basically a sure thing.

As it stands, Huo Yutong's refusal of the gift itself is quickly turning into an accident.

Dai Yueyan felt like crying but had no tears.

He originally thought this trip would become the best weight to consolidate his claim to the throne, but who knew it would actually backfire.

Huo Yutong felt somewhat speechless.

In her perception, Dai Yueyan continuously emanated a feeling of having no will to live, which she found quite laughable.

She never imagined that one day she would be so highly regarded by the Dai family.

She indeed had a mind to continue causing trouble, to laugh at Dai Yueyan's expense, but now is not the time.

Because she indeed had something she needed to ask Dai Yueyan for.

Huo Yutong said, 'Dai Yueyan, compared to this soul tool, there is something else in your Star Luo Empire that interests me more.'

'What?'

Upon hearing this, Dai Yueyan immediately regained his spirits.

Although he would not agree if Huo Yutong's request were too excessive, at least knowing she had something she wanted made things much easier.

Huo Yutong's eyes flickered several times as she asked, 'Do you have a small space filled entirely with dragon corpses over there?'

Because he has been busy with wedding-related matters lately, Tang Wulin has not seriously begun searching for dragon bones.

But after the wedding ends, as the inheritor of the Dragon God's power, completing the Dragon God's Nine Trials will be his most important task.

The content of the second trial of the Dragon God is to gather the seven great dragon bones again; compared to some dragon bones whose whereabouts are unknown, the two in Dragon Valley and the two in the Ice Fire Yin-Yang Well are undoubtedly the easiest to obtain.

They have already asked Zang Xin about matters concerning the Ice Fire Yin-Yang Well; according to Zang Xin, this secret realm now belongs exclusively to the Tang Sect, and every few decades the Tang Sect sends its most talented contemporary disciple inside to pick heavenly herbs as they wish.

Zang Xin did not realize that their true purpose was the dragon bones of the Water Fire Dragon King inside, so he cheerfully told Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong that if they wanted them, they could go in and pick them out themselves, which would be fine.

Seeing his sunny smile, Tang Wulin decided in his heart to tell him the truth after the wedding when he had a free moment.

Otherwise, when Zang Xin discovers that Tang Wulin has emerged from the Ice Fire Yin-Yang Well and the entire secret realm begins to wither, he might very well seek to fight him to the death.

Unexpectedly, he also obtained information about Dragon Valley from the Tang Sect.

It is said that, over these years, as the Tang Sect's mastery of spatial technology has increased, they have completely brought Dragon Valley under their control.

Just like the Ice Fire Yin-Yang Well, they periodically send a group of people in to perform Dragon Cloud Body Tempering and search for dragon bones.

However, compared to the cycle of the Ice Fire Yin-Yang Well, Dragon Valley's opening period is undoubtedly much shorter, and the benefits that can be reaped are also correspondingly fewer.

Regardless, knowing that the right to open Dragon Valley lies in the hands of the Tang Sect undoubtedly makes many things much easier.

If one were to say what is more troublesome compared to the Ice Fire Yin-Yang Well, it is that, according to Zang Xin, Dragon Valley is a shared asset of the Star Luo Empire and the Tang Sect.

Both sides stand to profit from this small secret realm, so for Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong to get their way, they must persuade not only the high-level Tang Sect but also the high-level Star Luo Empire.

Huo Yutong also knows what her identity means to the Star Luo Empire, so she has long decided to take this opportunity when Dai Yueyan comes to see her to ask about Dragon Valley.

As expected, Dai Yueyan snapped back to attention the moment he heard Huo Yutong say that.

'You mean Dragon Valley?'

'Yes.'

Seeing Huo Yutong lightly nod, Dai Yueyan asked somewhat glumly, 'That small world is indeed located in our Star Luo Continent, but why are you asking about this?'

Since the Star Luo Empire discovered Dragon Valley, they have regularly sent their outstanding royal members there for training.

They have now developed a technique that allows people to exit at any time, so safety is not a major concern.

Given the conditions inside Dragon Valley, as long as royal members prepare in advance for the massive restriction on soul power usage that is a huge limitation for soul masters, they often can achieve considerable improvement.

Because Dragon Valley imposes a soul power level restriction, only low-level soul masters can enter; thus royal members usually go in at around the four-ring level to obtain opportunities.

Dai Yueyan only recently broke through to the four-ring level, just in time for the previous opening of Dragon Valley, so he knows many things about it quite well.

In his view, although this small world of Dragon Valley is also very precious, to top-tier experts like Huo Yutong and Tang Wulin it would be nothing more than a rib of little use.

Leaving aside that they, having reached the rank of Honored Douluo, cannot enter Dragon Valley at all, even if they did, the things inside might not be of much use to them.

In Dai Yueyan's opinion, the priority of Dragon Valley should not be that high.

Huo Yutong and Tang Wulin looked at each other, and finally Tang Wulin said, 'Actually, I have a method to forcibly let high-level soul masters enter Dragon Valley, but only I can use it.'

'Oh, I see.'

Dai Yueyan considered this somewhat expected, after all, if even getting in were impossible, Huo Yutong probably would not have brought up Dragon Valley on her own.

So he nodded in understanding and turned his scrutinizing gaze toward Tang Wulin.

Regarding this youth who is only a few years older than himself yet already stands at the pinnacle of the world in every aspect, Dai Yueyan has seen many rumors about him online these days.

There are all sorts of categories, and Dai Yueyan is not sure which are true and which are false.

As a Star Luo prince, namely the side that controls public opinion, Dai Yueyan is quite aware that most online rumors are unreliable, so he tends to treat online evaluations of Tang Wulin more as a joke to savor.

But meeting him in person for the first time is still a first.

One cannot help but say it is no wonder that many online initially called Tang Wulin a 'pretty boy'; first of all, his face already meets the prerequisite for being a pretty boy.

Dai Yueyan considers himself somewhat handsome, but compared to Tang Wulin he is simply far, far behind.

If this guy debuted as a celebrity, he would definitely have the most fans and be among the top tier.

It is said that fan clubs for Tang Wulin have already appeared online, but Dai Yueyan does not pay much attention to such matters, so he has only heard about it.

And what most attracts Dai Yueyan is undoubtedly Tang Wulin's eyes.

His pair of golden eyes are clear and transparent, as if they could see straight through to the bottom, reflecting a penetrating light; they easily spark people's imagination, leaving Dai Yueyan with a deep impression.

Unexpectedly, Dai Yueyan's first impression of Tang Wulin was very good.

(End of chapter)