Chapter 536

Dai Yueyan asked, "I believe you both have already learned from the people of Tang Sect that entering Dragon Valley will greatly restrict your soul power cultivation. So what do you two intend to take from there?"

Tang Wulin narrowed his eyes slightly and said in a low voice: "That's something we cannot disclose. I can only say that if I take that thing, Dragon Valley may never open again. So what we actually want is not the qualification to enter Dragon Valley, but the small space itself. I hope you can prepare yourselves mentally."

He had no intention of telling Dai Yueyan about the Dragon God Dragon Soul, not because he feared they would send people ahead to seize it; after all, only low-level soul masters can enter Dragon Valley, and soul power is sealed there. Normally, even if the Star Luo Empire knew, they would hardly reach the Dragon Tomb, and even if they did, they could never reach the Dragon God Dragon Soul; they would surely be slain by the true dragon dragon souls along the way.

Even if an accident somehow let them reach the vicinity of the Dragon God Dragon Soul, they would lack the ability to absorb it. Consider that Tang Wulin, who had already reached five rings and whose physique was comparable to that of an ordinary Titled Douluo, nearly died from exploding when he absorbed the Dragon God Dragon Soul; this group of low-level soul masters whose highest cultivation is only four rings would consider it a success if they were not instantly shattered by the Dragon God Dragon Soul's energy burst.

He simply didn't want to tell them about the Dragon God Dragon Soul to avoid complications.

As for whether Dragon Valley will truly never reopen after taking the Dragon God Dragon Soul away—

The answer is that this is just Tang Wulin's deceitful talk to fool them.

Even when Tang Wulin was a five-ring Soul King, upon leaving Dragon Valley, the Light Dragon King reminded him that if he obtained the Space Dragon King's soul bone, he could find a way to re-enter the already-closed Dragon Valley space.

He has now obtained the Space Dragon King's dragon bone, and barring any mishap, he will soon make another trip to Hell Valley; there he will fuse the two pieces of the Space Dragon King's dragon bone, and his control over spatial power will surely be stronger than with just one piece, making the reopening of the passage to Dragon Valley a trivial matter.

He did not tell Dai Yueyan this; instead he chose to tell them that taking something from Dragon Valley would cause it to close, because he wanted to seize this opportunity to fully control Dragon Valley himself.

This time I go to Dragon Valley, I undoubtedly still need to fulfill my promise with the Wind Dragon King to bury the dragon remains exposed in the wilderness; if other humans were allowed in, they might dig up the graves I made—what then? Moreover, this small space of Dragon Valley has other uses for me, so I would rather let the Star Luo Empire people think that this little world has been handed over to Tang Wulin and will never return.

Upon hearing Tang Wulin's remark, Dai Yueyan suddenly understood.

That being the case, if it's merely about the qualification to enter Dragon Valley, naturally there's no need to specially seek permission from the Star Luo Empire; even all Tang Sect branches on the Star Luo Continent have the authority to admit Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong.

But if they intend to directly shut down the entire Dragon Valley, then the matter is not so simple.

For a single individual, Dragon Valley is hardly significant, but if one considers its value to the entire Star Luo Empire populace, its strategic worth is enormous.

In every generation there are always one or two youths with heaven-defying talent who can obtain a soul bone from the Dragon Tomb; even if it is only the lowest-grade soul bone, in this era when soul beasts are on the brink of extinction, it can still play an enormous role for such a young genius.

Although the existence of the Spirit Ascension Platform has greatly increased many people's soul ring years in this era, there remains a huge gap between artificial soul spirits and natural soul rings.

The soul skills granted by artificial soul spirits are inferior even to those of natural soul spirits, let alone to those of normally hunted soul beasts; under normal circumstances, without relying on battle armor, a soul master whose every soul ring comes from artificial soul spirits cannot defeat a peer whose every soul ring is natural, otherwise soul masters of this era would not risk their lives to go to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt soul beasts.

The enhancement a soul bone provides to a soul master can even surpass that of a soul ring.

If one asks which type of soul bone is the strongest, at least ninety out of a hundred people would answer: the true dragon soul bone.

The enhancement a true dragon soul bone gives a soul master is comprehensive: it not only grants powerful soul skills but also promotes physical improvement; if an ordinary soul master absorbs a true dragon soul bone, a true metamorphosis is indeed possible.

Moreover, aside from possibly providing some soul bones, Dragon Valley has other wonderful uses.

The various colored dragon clouds drifting in the sky can improve a soul master's bloodline, boost their mental power, and solidify their foundation; the dragon souls running on the ground, when defeated, release their energy into the soul master's body, enhancing their physique; even without obtaining a dragon bone, simply staying there long enough can bring boundless benefits to youngsters whose soul power level is still low.

And the most special example is none other than the current top genius of the Star Luo Continent.

His mother's physique was rather frail; to help her give birth smoothly, her husband used his connections to bring her to Dragon Valley.

As a result, when this child was born, at the age-six martial soul awakening ceremony, he actually awakened an unprecedented Mountain Dragon King martial soul.

Although for unknown reasons his Mountain Dragon King martial soul has poor control and is extremely prone to berserk, as a martial soul it is undoubtedly top-notch among the top.

The Star Luo Empire's high-ranking officials generally believe this is due to the influence of Dragon Valley's aura; over the years they have periodically sent pregnant soul master women into Dragon Valley, but unfortunately they have never again produced a holder of a Dragon King–level martial soul.

Although the exact cause remains unclear, as long as this possibility exists, Dragon Valley's significance to the Star Luo Empire is enormous; if the experiment truly succeeded, regularly recruiting volunteers from society could yield genius soul masters, and no mother in this world would not want her child to be more outstanding.

Tang Wulin's current proposal to take something from Dragon Valley that could possibly close its entrance would undoubtedly cause many of the Star Luo Empire's plans over the years to come to naught.

Yet Dai Yueyan did not want to give up this opportunity to curry favor with Huo Yutong.

After hesitating repeatedly, he sighed and bowed slightly to the two, saying, "Please wait here a moment while I go consult my father's opinion."

The authority granted to him for this visit is also limited, and this request undoubtedly exceeds his limits; he has no right to transfer the entire Dragon Valley to Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong without permission.

As for this, Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong had already anticipated it; they lightly nodded at him, then casually found a place to sit.

Dai Yueyan gave a signal to his attendants and then led several officials who were obviously high-ranking into a room behind him.

Watching the room's door close, Huo Yutong asked in her heart:

"Wulin, do you think they will agree to our request?"

Tang Wulin smiled faintly and countered, "What do you think?"

Huo Yutong's answer was very certain.

"I think they will agree."

The reason is quite simple: the Star Luo Empire has no power to refuse.

Just a few months ago, Yun Ming had just revealed the news that Tang Wulin had defeated him in a frontal battle; disregarding Huo Yutong, whose true strength is still unknown to most, Tang Wulin is currently the world's number one expert. In the recent conversation, Huo Yutong initially handled the talk, but as soon as Dragon Valley was mentioned, the discussion shifted to Tang Wulin, clearly indicating that the person they wanted to obtain something from Dragon Valley that would cause its closure is Tang Wulin—anyone with a bit of sense could see that.

Just such a top-tier expert who surpasses even a Titled Douluo is already enough to outweigh nearly the entire Star Luo Empire, let alone having at his side Huo Yutong, whose influence and strength are world‑top; before these two, the Star Luo Empire has no capacity to resist.

Put bluntly, even if Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong really ran to the Star Luo Continent, forcefully entered Dragon Valley to take what they wanted, the Star Luo Empire's people would have no means to resist; they don't even know how Tang Wulin, a Titled Douluo, entered Dragon Valley, let alone how to stop him.

Therefore, any Star Luo Empire person with a sound mind could not possibly refuse Tang Wulin's request; at most they might seize the opportunity to make a small demand of their own.

As for what that demand might be… it depends on how Dai Yueyan and his imperial father negotiate.

Tang Wulin chuckled lightly:

"You're thinking the same as I am."

He couldn't help but sigh inwardly, indeed on the Douluo Continent, strength is everything.

If it weren't for their strength being overwhelmingly strong, the Star Luo Empire would absolutely have no chance of agreeing to them.

After waiting about another half hour, Dai Yueyan emerged from the room with those officials.

As Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong expected, he again bowed slightly to them and said, "My father the emperor has agreed; you may take anything from Dragon Valley, and we can fully bear any consequences, but you must agree to one request of ours."

Tang Wulin asked curiously:

"What request?"

Dai Yueyan said in a deep voice, "Help us eradicate the rebel organization Green Skull; if you can accomplish that, we will personally hand over the entire Dragon Valley, and we can also offer a reward worth hundreds of millions of federal coins."

He then explained to the two what this so-called Green Skull organization is about.

They are a rebel organization of the Star Luo Empire, possessing great strength, occupying two strategically important provinces; the government has fought them in several major wars, but because the Green Skull organization has many strongmen holding their ground, it has not succeeded, only managing to continually compress their living space in hopes of waging a protracted war.

The reason the Star Luo Empire has long been unable to completely crush the Green Skull rebel organization is primarily that it lacks a powerhouse capable of deciding the outcome in one stroke.

The Star Luo Empire's strongest, En Ci, is now only a ninety‑eighth‑rank Titled Douluo and cannot wipe out the Green Skull in one fell swoop.

The Green Skull organization has existed for many years; even during the reign of earlier Star Luo emperors, they had already begun rebelling against the imperial house.

As emperor, Dai Tianling had long wanted to completely eradicate them, but he lacked helpers to assist.

The Sun Moon Federation is certainly not to be relied upon; they would love to see the Star Net Empire consume itself in internal strife, preferably draining its national strength until it collapses on its own.

As for the Dou Ling Continent… their national strength is even weaker than that of the Star Net Empire; expecting help from them is worse than relying on oneself.

Now it so happens that Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong, two peerless powerhouses, have appeared in the world; he naturally wants to seize the opportunity, using their power to completely eradicate this major threat to the Star Net Empire's imperial family.

I see, now I understand.

After hearing that, Tang Wulin nodded in understanding.

Then it's settled: as long as we help you settle the Green Skeleton Organization, you will no longer interfere in Dragon Valley's affairs.

Hmm." Dai Yueyan nodded and reminded, "But let me say this up front: I can only guarantee that our Star Net Empire will no longer interfere further; however, Dragon Valley, this small world, is jointly supervised and controlled by our nation and the Tang Sect, so you still need to find a way to persuade the Tang Sect.

Tang Wulin smiled faintly.

You can rest assured about this.

He had already figured out how to communicate with the Tang Sect.

Then that's good.

Only then did Dai Yueyan finally relax completely.

No matter what, so far he hasn't committed any major mistake.

Frankly speaking, if the Star Net Empire could really, with the help of these two, wipe out the Green Skeleton Organization, then handing over Dragon Valley to them would be of no consequence.

To those in power, such a terrorist organization that flies the banner of a resistance group is still more disgusting.

Next, he only needs to stay a while longer in this hotel at Spirit Ice Plaza; after the wedding between Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong is completely over, he can leave here and return to the Star Net Continent. Having just experienced Huo Yutong rejecting his gift, for Dai Yueyan now, having no merit and no fault is already quite good.

Afterwards, he exchanged a few polite words with the two, saw that they had no intention to continue chatting, then said, "I hope you can come to the Star Net Continent for a visit soon," and ended the conversation.

Anyway, since they both promised to help eradicate the Green Skeleton Organization, they will definitely come to the Star Net Continent when the time comes.

By then, developing friendship truly won't be too late; for now, his job is merely to do well in the preliminary engagement, leaving Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong a good first impression.

(End of chapter)