Chapter 545

Just as it was ten thousand years ago, the capital of the Star Net Empire is still called Star Net City.

Star Net City covers a broad area, yet it possesses city walls that are already extremely rare on the Douluo Continent, making it look more like an ancient city.

The city walls are also equipped with various soul tool weapons as part of their defense system, further revealing the unrest of the Star Net Empire.

However, upon entering the city, a familiar feeling arose.

The streets are filled with bustling crowds; aside from slight differences in architectural style and clothing compared to the Douluo Continent, there is nothing particularly different.

At this moment, three guests arrived within the imperial palace of Star Net City.

Dai Tianling looked dubiously at the woman beside Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong and asked Tang Wulin, "Who… is this lady?"

Tang Wulin helplessly glanced at Ling Zichen, seeing her aloof demeanor, obviously unwilling to explain, so he said to Dai Tianling:

"Her name is Ling Zichen, a top talent in the Tang Sect's soul tool technology field. Um… you can think of her as the second-in-command among the Tang Sect's research-oriented soul tool masters."

Tang Wulin himself actually wasn't very keen on bringing Ling Zichen along, but she insisted; after consulting Zang Xin's opinion, Tang Wulin still agreed to bring her to the Star Net Continent.

However, he had also made an agreement with her: upon arriving at the Star Net Continent, she must obey his commands in all matters; if she dared to act out, Huo Yutong would withdraw from the project team she was responsible for.

According to Tang Wulin's knowledge, although Ling Zichen's personality is strange and crazy, she at least can be trusted to keep her word, so there's no need to worry too much about her causing trouble.

As for her safety… haha, even if the Star Net Empire's current strongest, En Ci, is only a ninety‑eighth‑level Super Douluo, there is almost nothing on this continent that could threaten her life; even if she truly encountered an unbeatable foe, she could hold out until Tang Wulin arrives.

Upon hearing Tang Wulin's introduction, Dai Tianling's eyes lit up instantly.

He immediately showed an eager smile and said to Ling Zichen, "I failed to recognize Mount Tai; may I ask, Miss Ling, what brings you to our Star Net Empire this time?"

Logically, he only needed Li Lie to notify Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong to come; yet the arriving party included an extra Ling Zichen. Given his understanding of Tang Wulin, it shouldn't have been him who brought her, so it must be this Tang Sect soul tool department's second‑in‑command acting on her own will.

After hearing Tang Wulin's introduction, the current Dai Tianling harbored no slight contempt toward Ling Zichen.

This is the second‑in‑command of the Tang Sect's soul tool department; the Tang Sect's research in the soul tool field is nearly the strongest in the world, and even the Sun Moon Federation would not dare claim certainty of superiority over the Tang Sect in soul tools.

Everyone who knows a bit about the Tang Sect knows that its second strongest is the Amorous Douluo Zang Xin; however, Zang Xin is merely a half‑god‑level Limit Douluo, and while such powerhouses are not many on the current continent, they also struggle to rank among the world's top ten.

But a research talent of Ling Zichen's caliber is different; her level could even be among the world's top three to five, and from this perspective, such talent is even rarer than Zang Xin, who holds the position of Tang Sect vice‑sect master.

Moreover, with the development of soul tool technology, soul masters' power can hardly suppress soul tools anymore; if Ling Zichen fully exerts her talent in the soul tool field, the destructive force she produces would far surpass that of an ordinary Limit Douluo.

Ling Zichen said coldly:

"Don't bother thinking about it; I'm here for no particular reason—Tang Wulin took away our soul tool research director, and without her our research can't continue, so I simply followed along."

"Oh, I see."

Dai Tianling paid no heed to Ling Zichen's impatient, disrespectful tone and nodded with interest.

"Do you need me to provide a place for your research?"

Dai Tianling had long known that the historical Ice Spirit Douluo was a genius soul tool master, but he never imagined that without Huo Yutong, research could not proceed.

It seems his evaluation of Huo Yutong in the soul tool field still needs to be raised a notch.

Ling Zichen shrugged and shook her head.

"No need; our soul tool facilities differ, and casually using your research equipment might cause problems. Anyway, it's only a few days' work—I'll just focus on theoretical research topics these days."

"Alright."

After this round of conversation, Dai Tianling also roughly gained an initial understanding of Ling Zichen's personality.

He is probably that typical fervent research talent.

As the emperor of the Star Net Empire, Dai Tianling has seen many such talents before, not necessarily in the soul tool field, but across all industries.

Perhaps for any field, those who treat their hobby as a lifelong pursuit are the most likely to stand out.

Therefore, Dai Tianling merely exchanged a couple of sentences with Ling Zichen and basically abandoned the idea of poaching her from the Tang Sect.

The reason is simple: to lure such talent, one basically needs to offer conditions that would move their heart.

As for the Star Net Empire's hardware conditions in the soul tool field… one could only say they are fairly impressive compared to ordinary major powers, but compared to the Tang Sect, which reigns supreme in soul tools, it's better not to bother.

Looking at Ling Zichen's expression, she doesn't seem to be someone who would prize the Star Net Empire's meager technology.

Thus, after concluding the greetings to Ling Zichen, Dai Tianling redirected his focus back onto Tang Wulin.

"You should have already heard the general situation from Li Lie, right?"

"En."

Tang Wulin nodded and asked curiously, "But why did you specifically ask me to bring Yutong along this time? I alone would be enough, wouldn't I?"

As the current strongest on the continent, he possesses confidence in defeating any enemy.

In response to his question, Dai Tianling's expression became much more solemn.

"Because while we were pinpointing the exact location of the Green Skull's lair, we also discovered some traces; through these traces we have reason to suspect that their lair contains Evil Soul Masters, with strength at least at the Super Douluo level, and even possibly a Limit Douluo."

"... Super Douluo or even Limit Douluo‑level Evil Soul Masters?"

Upon hearing his words, Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong's expressions instantly turned grave, while Ling Zichen remained indifferent, unaware whether she grasped the seriousness of the matter.

Regarding Evil Soul Masters of this level, Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong still have considerable authority.

After all, ten thousand years ago they personally slew a Limit Douluo‑level Evil Soul Master—Ye Xi Shui.

As for the Death God Douluo Ye Xi Shui, Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong both retain deep impressions.

As a veteran Limit Douluo and also an existence nearly on par with a tenth‑level soul tool master, Ye Xi Shui's combat power, even among demigods, is likely among the very strong.

Yet her strength, in the face of her outrageous life‑saving ability, seems hardly worth mentioning.

Under the enhancement of the Blood Soul Great Method, she almost equals having twelve chances to be reborn; adding the Light Phoenix Martial Soul's innate Nirvana talent, Ye Xi Shui can even be said to possess a full fourteen lives.

Even when Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong joined forces initially, they couldn't finish her off in one go; moreover, if it weren't for Huo Yutong's decisive use of the God Descent Technique during the second battle—employing Death God Descent, which absolutely counters Ye Xi Shui—she might have escaped again.

And the life‑saving ability she possesses is also found in most other Evil Soul Masters, just not as strong as hers.

For instance, the former Death God Emissary relied solely on Corpse Explosion and Mist Transformation abilities, barely escaping from Xuanzi's grasp.

Likewise, Zhongli Wu—it is said that those Honored Douluo who subdued him back then also expended considerable effort.

As for Evil Soul Masters of this era, although Tang Wulin hasn't faced many head‑on, he has heard many related rumors over the past three years.

Merely the number of Evil Soul Master powerhouses who were killed by Yun Ming yet reappeared is no fewer than five, showing how tenacious their life‑saving abilities are.

However, looking from another angle, it can actually be understood that if they didn't have such strong life-preserving abilities, these Evil Soul Masters might not have survived to reach full maturity.

Either way, if the Green Skull Headquarters truly possesses such a high-ranking Evil Soul Master expert, then Dai Tian Ling having Tang Wulin bring Huo Yutong along makes sense.

Although Dai Tian Ling is also a powerful soul master, the gap between him and the Ultimate Douluo level is still too great, and he has no clear concept of just how strong Tang Wulin's power actually is.

In his opinion, the former continent's strongest, Yun Ming, had repeatedly been defeated and fled from his subordinates' Evil Soul Masters, so the new strongest, Tang Wulin, might not avoid making the same mistake.

To be safe, it's still better to have the two of them come together.

After understanding why Dai Tian Ling wanted the two of them to come together, Tang Wulin suddenly realized and asked:

"Is there any relevant information about what kind of ability that Evil Soul Master has?"

In fact, when dealing with Evil Soul Masters, Huo Yutong's Necromancer martial soul is usually very effective, especially when facing beings like Ye Xi Shui or Zhongli Wu who manipulate souls.

But there are times when it's not useful; the simplest example is the holder of the Brain-eating Beast martial soul in the second Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament.

Against the wielder of that martial soul, necromancy and holy attributes have little effect; one must overwhelm with sheer strength.

Tang Wulin hopes that the Evil Soul Master he faces this time is of the type like Ye Xi Shui, which would make things much easier.

Dai Tian Ling's face grew solemn.

"Based on various clues we've gathered, that Evil Soul Master's ability is likely related to curses; in the worst case, we might end up facing the Dark Blood Demon."

"I see."

Tang Wulin finally understood why Dai Tian Ling said that Evil Soul Master might possess Ultimate Douluo-level cultivation.

In the Holy Spirit Sect, the only ones currently known to definitely have Ultimate Douluo-level cultivation are the highest-ranking One Emperor Two Emperors; as for the cultivation of the Four Heavenly Kings below, it remains uncertain.

These Four Heavenly Kings are respectively the Dark Blood Demon, Dark Bee Bird, Dark Bell, and Dark Phoenix; the latter three are Super Douluo-level Evil Soul Masters, while only the Dark Blood Demon, due to his elusive and unpredictable whereabouts and rare appearances, cannot have its cultivation level definitively determined.

The Dark Blood Demon bears the title Honored Blood Curse; his name is simply Blood Demon. Around forty years ago, he was already a level Soul Power Super Douluo, a particularly evil existence among Evil Soul Masters. He cultivates his demonic arts using others' essence blood, each cultivation requiring hundreds of human lives, making his cultivation extremely strange.

His most famous ability is Blood Demon Curse Kill, used to control blood slaves; for each person he wishes to control, he extracts a drop of their essence blood, leaving a mark. No matter the distance—thousands or tens of thousands of miles—if he wills it, he can instantly control their life and death, which is strange and evil.

After all these years, he is very likely now at Ultimate Douluo level or close to it.

However, upon hearing that the opponent might be him, Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong's expressions actually became much calmer.

Others may not be able to say, but if it's him, Huo Yutong has ten thousand ways to kill him completely.

As the self-proclaimed Death Holy Law God, Ilex's strengths are indeed biased; within necromancy, what he excels at most is commanding the undead and applying curses.

The mysteries of these two fields, even now Huo Yutong dares not say she has fully mastered them; but at least when dealing with the Dark Blood Demon—a fellow who may not even have Ultimate Douluo-level strength—there is no problem at all. Seeing their confident expressions, Dai Tian Ling raised his eyebrows and said with a smile:

"You seem quite confident; do you have a way to deal with him?"

"Hmm, leave it to us with peace of mind."

"Alright, then wait a moment."

Dai Tian Ling laughed heartily, pulled out a soul tool communicator, and casually pressed a few buttons on it.

Shortly after, less than three minutes passed, and several people arrived in this room.

Tang Wulin glanced at them and immediately saw through their cultivation levels.

Among the six people, four are Honored Douluo and two are Super Douluo; for the Star Net Empire, this already counts as quite top-tier combat power.

Moreover, among them, Tang Wulin knows four of them; over the past three years, Tang Wulin, at the invitation of the Star Net Empire, has forged four-word battle armor for them.

If they wear the four-word battle armor forged by Tang Wulin, even if they are merely Honored Douluo while the Dark Blood Demon is an Ultimate Douluo, working together they could still have the ability to surpass and defeat the Dark Blood Demon.

Dai Tian Ling introduced:

"These are all our Star Net Empire's National Guardians; for this operation, most of the work will be carried out by them, and you two, Your Excellencies, just need to handle the rearguard."

"What does that mean?"

Tang Wulin blinked, somewhat not understanding Dai Tian Ling's meaning.

Dai Tian Ling smiled and said:

"The meaning is that you two, Your Excellencies, only need to deal with the strong enemies they cannot defeat; as for everything else, please don't interfere."

Tang Wulin narrowed his eyes slightly, then reacted to Dai Tian Ling's meaning.

He slowly nodded.

"Alright, I understand."

Putting Dai Tian Ling's words in plain English, it just means let Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong rest assured as enforcers; aside from fighting, don't meddle in anything else.

After all, this is not an ordinary match or sparring, but a campaign to clear wrongdoing; strictly speaking, it belongs to the Star Net Empire's internal affairs.

No matter which country, internal affairs are not to be interfered with; if Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong were to casually intervene in their internal affairs, Dai Tian Ling might prefer they not participate in this operation.

Having received an affirmative answer, Dai Tian Ling's expression relaxed considerably; he took out a remote, pressed the projector hanging on the wall, and instantly a map was projected onto it.

On this map, a small red dot is marked.

Dai Tian Ling said: "According to the information we've obtained, the Green Skull Organization somehow acquired an unclaimed small world, successfully took it as their own, turned it into their lair, with their finest members inside; as long as we capture this small world, they will absolutely have no chance to turn the tide."

Having said that, Dai Tian Ling looked toward Tang Wulin.

"Your Excellency Dragon King, do you have a way to seal off the space of this small world so they cannot escape after the battle begins?"

For the Star Net Empire, which possesses many small world resources, this small world is irrelevant either way; but if we let the Green Skull's top combat power escape, that would truly be a headache.

Tang Wulin gave a slight smile.

"It's a trivial matter."

The spatial blockade he set up cannot be broken even by Di Tian, let alone those rebel forces lacking even Ultimate Douluo-level strength.

"Then that's good."

Dai Tian Ling sighed in relief once again.

Since these rebel forces have no means of escape, the matter becomes much easier.

He turned his gentle gaze toward Ling Zichen, who had remained silent, and asked:

"Miss Ling, please wait a moment; do you need me to arrange a room for you specifically?"

The result exceeded his expectations; Ling Zichen said disdainfully, "No need, I'm going as well."

"This..."

Not only is Dai Tianling in a dilemma, but even several Star Luo Empire Guardian Dukes are furtively frowning.

One old man said in a deep voice: "Miss, please understand, we are not going to play around next; we are participating in a real war, and His Majesty is also considering your safety."

They cannot sense any soul power from Ling Zichen's body; this situation can only have two possibilities: either she is truly an ordinary person, or her cultivation is so high that they cannot see through it at all.

With just a little thought, it's clear the latter is almost impossible.

Given their cultivation, even an ordinary Limit Douluo before them could not easily conceal their cultivation; only a Quasi-God level powerhouse could possibly do so.

How could a Quasi-God level person be so easily born? Even the sect leader and vice sect leader of the Tang Sect are only Half-God level Limit Douluo now; as their subordinates, Ling Zichen could not possibly have Quasi-God level strength.

In other words, she really is just an ordinary person.

An ordinary person participating in such a level of war—isn't that just causing trouble?

Ling Zichen glanced around these Dukes, gave a cold laugh, slightly opened her mouth, about to say something, but suddenly a hand covered her mouth.

"Mmmmmmm!"

Several Dukes looked bewilderedly at Ling Zichen, whose mouth was covered by Tang Wulin, making muffled cries, not understanding what the two were doing.

Tang Wulin said via voice transmission fiercely:

"Keep quiet! Don't forget what we agreed on before departure!"

"!"

Ling Zichen's body trembled, and she immediately became obedient, no longer struggling.

Tang Wulin then sighed in relief, releasing his hand that had covered her mouth.

Huo Yutong wryly smiled at this scene; frankly, if Tang Wulin hadn't acted first, she would have also moved to stop Ling Zichen.

The two of them know Ling Zichen's personality very well, so they could guess what she was about to say.

She probably wanted to say something like "None of you here can beat me."

Whether that statement is correct or not aside, the statement itself is problematic and easily provokes disputes, possibly leading to a match.

If Ling Zichen loses, it's fine—it just shows she doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth.

But if she wins, then these Guardian Dukes would have nowhere to put their faces.

Not even an ordinary person without soul power can defeat them; just thinking about saying that out loud is embarrassing.

They don't want to ruin the mood of a few companions before the operation even starts.

Tang Wulin said to Dai Tianling: "Rest assured, Your Majesty, I and Yutong are watching her; it's absolutely safe."

He doesn't oppose letting Ling Zichen join the operation; it's not that he worries about her safety, but he worries about the safety of Star Luo City's residents.

If he weren't watching Ling Zichen, this guy might cause trouble.

As a God-level Mecha Master, she can definitely protect herself, so let her come along.

"Alright then."

Dai Tianling still worries a bit, but since Tang Wulin said so, he can't easily refuse.

He said: "In short, please have all Honored Douluo-level and above powerhouses eliminate them; the rest is left to you Dukes; let's set off now."

"Okay."

Having received the order to depart, Tang Wulin didn't delay; with a wave, the scene before everyone instantly changed, arriving at the location marked on the map just now.

Before the several Honored Douluo could even feel surprised, Tang Wulin suddenly unfolded his Gold and Silver Dual Wings; with a burst of explosive sound, a vortex then appeared before everyone.

He gestured to the several dumbfounded Dukes and smiled:

"Come on; as long as you enter this vortex, you can enter the target's small world."

After arriving here, he sensed the existence of this small world through the Spatial Dragon King's ability.

He hadn't expected it to be so easy to open; it seems the Green Skull people often come and go here.

The Star Luo Empire's Dukes stared at each other, momentarily unsure what to say.

When they previously planned this operation, Dai Tianling told them they didn't need to worry about entering the small world; they thought he had some new technology at the time.

They never expected it to rely on Tang Wulin's own strength.

Feeling amazed at Tang Wulin's strength in their hearts, they all entered the spatial vortex.

Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong brought Ling Zichen along behind them.

(End of chapter)