The Curtain Falls

A clear dragon's roar echoed through the cultivation chamber. Tang Wulin withdrew his hand from Xie Xie's back, his face somewhat pale.

The wounds on Xie Xie's body vanished with the awakening of his Martial Soul. Fine, translucent scales covered him, and a faint sense of spatial-temporal displacement surrounded him.

Tang Wulin had used the Golden Dragon King bloodline to guide Xie Xie's bloodline for an entire day and night. Even he felt exhausted.

Xie Xie slowly opened his eyes. Four Soul Rings rose beneath his feet, but upon closer inspection, one would find that they were actually eight Soul Rings overlapping.

Xie Xie's Twin Martial Souls had completely fused into one—the Space-Time Dragon.

There was no such dragon species within the Dragon Clan's lineage. It was less suppressed by higher-ranking dragons, but correspondingly, the dragon bloodline did not greatly strengthen his body either. Thus, calling it a branch of the Dragon Clan was not entirely accurate. Yet the authority wielded by the Space-Time Dragon was undeniably real.

Space and time. An exceedingly mysterious law.

Tang Wulin's Spiritual Domain was Time Reversal, which had already touched upon the level of laws. However, the law power Tang Wulin truly controlled should still be the Dragon Emperor Forbidden Art. The path of space and time was not the road he was meant to walk.

But Xie Xie had his Martial Soul to guide him in this regard, granting him an innate advantage. If he could comprehend the laws, Space-Time Godhood would naturally come within reach.

"Boss..." Xie Xie's voice was hoarse.

Tang Wulin asked, "How do you feel?"

Xie Xie closed his eyes. As his eight Soul Rings merged into four, an intense light flared. Amid the shifting radiance, a fifth Soul Ring quietly formed.

He had broken through.

The advantages of possessing Twin Martial Souls had allowed him to cultivate Soul Power at an astonishing speed in his early years. With this Martial Soul awakening, he had also broken through the four-ring bottleneck in one stroke and become a five-ring Soul King.

Tang Wulin leaned against the wall and chuckled. "Now you should be able to beat Yuanen."

Xie Xie cleared his throat and smiled bitterly. "I might never be able to beat her."

Tang Wulin was helpless.

Xie Xie stood up and said softly, "Boss, thank you."

Tang Wulin patted his shoulder. "Why thank me between brothers? Just remember to pay the rental fee for the Tang Sect's high-level cultivation chamber after you leave."

Xie Xie's expression froze. "How many days has it been?!"

Tang Wulin grinned. "One day and one night."

"Heaven is trying to kill me!" Xie Xie clutched his head.

Since he had rented the room anyway, Xie Xie decided to stay and cultivate a while longer to stabilize his gains. Tang Wulin left first.

However, not long after leaving the Tang Sect, an item in his storage device suddenly stirred.

A Battle Soul Hall summons order.

Tang Wulin rubbed his brow, took out his cloak and mask, put them on, and vanished from where he stood.

"Very good." A man in a black cloak counted the people present. "That should be enough."

He lowered the summons order and said, "The target of this mission is the Green Skull organization. Your first priority is to protect civilians. Only then comes exterminating the cultists. Of course, make sure to protect yourselves as well."

"I am Black One. Report your numbers to me, then depart immediately."

Tang Wulin was Yellow Three.

With his strength, being a yellow-ranked fighter was truly beneath him. Zang Xin had previously suggested that he change his rank color, but Tang Wulin found it too troublesome and never did. Thus, he was still yellow-ranked.

He was assigned to a group led by a purple-ranked fighter.

After swiftly reaching their destination, Tang Wulin swept the area with his spiritual power and immediately discovered an extremely threatening weapon.

His gaze sharpened.

Voices drifted out from inside the building.

"Those Tang Sect bastards are just dogs raised by Star Luo. Damn it, they interfere with our operations every time!" someone cursed.

"An organization from Douluo insists on meddling in Star Luo's internal affairs. They're no better!"

"Since they're already here, just detonate it! Make them accompany us to the grave!"

Creak. The door suddenly opened.

A person wearing a yellow cloak and mask slowly walked in, carrying a metal block in one hand.

"Are you talking about this?"

Everyone inside revealed horrified expressions.

This person calmly carried a seventh-grade Fixed Soul-Guided Artillery Shell, practically a humanoid powder keg.

Someone shouted, "Detonate it! Detonate it!"

"It malfunctioned! We can't detonate it!" someone replied in terror.

Tang Wulin's expression was icy. Pressing down on the Fixed Soul-Guided Artillery Shell, he crushed it out of shape with his bare hand.

A tyrannical pressure forced every madman inside to lower their heads—Black One, a Three-Word Battle Armor Master, had arrived.

The members of the other groups had also captured or killed the scattered cultists around the grand theater, all converging here.

Black One said coldly, "Drop your weapons and surrender. Any resistance will be killed on the spot!"

After the mission ended, Black One removed his mask and smiled as he patted Tang Wulin's shoulder. "I'll report this operation to our superiors. You'll receive merit for it."

Tang Wulin shook his head. "No need. I want it exchanged for a spot to enter Dragon Valley."

Black One was startled. "Your cultivation level is?"

It was rather strange. As an eight-ring Soul Master and a Three-Word Battle Armor Master, he should not have been unable to see through the cultivation level of a yellow-ranked fighter.

"Six rings."

Black One frowned. "That may not be possible. Dragon Valley has restrictions."

Tang Wulin shook his head. "Just report it upward. I have my own way to break through the restrictions."

He nodded slightly to Black One. "I have something else to do. I'll be leaving first."

Before Black One could react, Tang Wulin disappeared.

Dawn had just broken. The individual competition finals were about to begin, and Tang Wulin arrived just in time without being late.

"Captain, where did you go?" Xu Xiaoyan relaxed when she saw him.

Tang Wulin said, "I handled something."

Yue Zhengyu, wrapped in bandages, asked, "How is Xie Xie?"

The moment Yuanen heard Xie Xie's name, her peripheral vision involuntarily drifted toward Tang Wulin.

A smile crossed Tang Wulin's face. "A blessing in disguise."

Gu Yue poked Tang Wulin. "Get ready to go on stage."

Tang Wulin nodded, his gaze falling upon Long Yue as he slowly walked onto the stage opposite him.

At this point in his previous life, Long Yue had seemed like a true mountain, crushing him so thoroughly that he could barely breathe. Yet in this life, Tang Wulin stood high above, looking down upon all the mountains below.

Tang Wulin stepped onto the arena. Revisiting this old place, he could only sigh at how times had changed.

As he lamented the unpredictability of life and the inscrutability of fate, Long Yue felt immense pressure from another person for the first time.

Tang Wulin clearly did nothing. He merely stood there, yet it was as if a sovereign had arrived—and Long Yue was a minister who could only bow his head.

"The match—begin!"

Long Yue did not dare underestimate Tang Wulin in the slightest. Light shone at his joints as a set of Two-Word Battle Armor instantly covered his entire body. A pair of enormous wings spread open behind him, and his aura abruptly became frenzied.

Tang Wulin saw the madness in his eyes. He slowly raised his hand. The instant a golden spear appeared, it felt as though space itself had been torn apart by its sharpness and twisted.

The bloodline throughout Long Yue's body trembled. Terror flooded his heart. If not for his Two-Word Battle Armor, he might already have fallen to his knees.

The defiance and unwillingness in his heart further ignited his madness and fury. Mountains and rivers howled as violent power rushed straight toward Tang Wulin.

Tang Wulin did not move. He merely gripped the spear and thrust forward. A thousand years passed in but an instant. When Long Yue collided with that spear, he seemed to see mountains thrust upward from colliding tectonic plates, melting snow and ice converging into rushing rivers, and mountains and rivers changing through countless ages as all things grew. Before that magnificent world, his madness was no more than a speck of dust, easily swept into the distance by the wind.

Never before had Long Yue's eyes been so clear after activating his Martial Soul. He also began to understand the meaning of the Mountain Dragon King's existence and witnessed the true power of mountains and rivers.

Golden light burst forth. The Golden Dragon Spear transformed into a roaring giant dragon, and the Mountains-and-Rivers Diagram vanished like smoke.

Long Yue's Two-Word Battle Armor withdrew. He knelt on one knee before Tang Wulin, his expression blank.

The Golden Dragon Spear returned to Tang Wulin's body.

Long Yue had lost. He had not even withstood a single spear strike from Tang Wulin before being defeated.

Yet he felt no resentment at all. He stood and gave Tang Wulin a deeply solemn bow. "Thank you."

Tang Wulin felt a surge of emotion and sighed softly. "I don't know how you obtained this inheritance, but since you have received it, please treat it well."

Long Yue's expression was complicated. "Why are you helping me?"

Tang Wulin said, "I once received its favor. Since you inherited this power, I should lend you a hand."

At some unknown point, En Ci had arrived beside Long Yue. Staring at Tang Wulin, he asked in a deep voice, "Who exactly are you?!"

"You old bastard, who do you think you're questioning?!" Cai Yue'er landed beside Tang Wulin.

Tang Wulin said, "Elder Cai, don't be nervous."

"Madness is not mountains and rivers." Tang Wulin looked at Long Yue. "Without earning the recognition of mountains and rivers, you can never control the Mountain Dragon King's power."

"See you in the team competition." He smiled faintly and left the stage with Cai Yue'er.

The silent venue suddenly erupted into commotion, with voices rising everywhere.

But neither Long Yue nor Tang Wulin cared.

"So this is how he made you comprehend it..." En Ci seemed to gain some insight.

Long Yue lowered his head. "Teacher, he really is strong... I... am inferior to him."

The ever-proud Long Yue had truly recognized the gap between them at this moment. Yet he had never avoided such matters. If he was wrong, he admitted it; if he lacked something, he corrected it.

En Ci was gratified. He sighed. "I was the one who held you back."

"Teacher!" Long Yue hurriedly said. "Please don't say that!"

En Ci patted his bald head. "Once this competition ends, go travel."

Long Yue was stunned. "Didn't you say that I couldn't leave until I had mastered it?"

En Ci said, "That was what I believed before. But he woke me up. It is better to guide than to block. Besides, your Martial Soul was ultimately something we forcibly altered. Blind suppression will only cut off your future path."

Long Yue frowned. "But what if..."

En Ci said, "When the time comes, I'll take you to see him again. I believe he'll have a solution."

Long Yue took a deep breath. "All right."

After En Ci left, Long Yue recalled the mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas Tang Wulin had shown him, and fell into deep thought.

The recognition of mountains and rivers...

Naturally, there was no suspense in the team competition.

Even Long Yue had lost to Tang Wulin. Monster Academy had no chance at a comeback.

An overwhelming victory.

The doubles competition, individual competition, and team competition. Shrek swept all three Soul Master event championships.

"Elder Cai, how do you think we did with our mission? Shouldn't the academy give us some kind of reward?" Xie Xie asked Cai Yue'er with a grin.

Cai Yue'er asked, "What do you want?"

Xie Xie rubbed his hands together. "An Inner Court spot, a Shrek Seven Monsters spot... If that won't work, two Soul Bones would do!"

Cai Yue'er ignored him outright.

Tang Wulin looked at the Soul-Forged Metal awarded for the team competition championship and frowned at the person delivering it. "The quality of this Soul-Forged Metal is a little low."

The person froze. Just as he was about to explain, he saw Tang Wulin holding a string of crystal-clear bracelets with several small Soul-Forged pendants hanging from it. Every pendant was of far higher quality than Star Luo's prize.

And the girl beside him was already wearing one around her wrist. Its quality was even better and its luster brighter. The largest pendant among them was even made of Soul-Forged Spirit Alloy.

"This..."

Tang Wulin did not make things difficult for him. "We won't take this. Please thank His Majesty the Emperor for us."

After politely declining the inferior Soul-Forged Metal, Tang Wulin said to Gu Yue, "If you don't like the one on your wrist, I can make you another."

Gu Yue said, "No need. This one is fine."

Tang Wulin spoke as casually as though Soul Forging were wholesale vegetables. The person holding the inferior Soul-Forged Metal felt like weeping inside and hurriedly fled.

"Where are we going next? What's the next stop in Star Luo?" Xu Xiaoyan asked curiously.

Cai Yue'er's gaze fell upon Tang Wulin. "It is time for you to leave."

Everyone looked at Tang Wulin together.

Xie Xie asked, "Boss, you're not coming with us?!"

Tang Wulin said, "I have something to do. You go ahead. I'll come find you."

Gu Yue asked, "Where are you going?"

Tang Wulin's gaze was complicated. "To revisit an old place."

Gu Yue suddenly stood and quickly left.

Tang Wulin sighed softly and followed her.

The rooftop.

The wind lifted Gu Yue's long hair. Standing alone, she seemed lost in thought.

Before Tang Wulin could speak, she spoke first. "The Tang Sect?"

"...Yes."

Gu Yue murmured, "The Golden Dragon King's power..."

Tang Wulin said, "I have to figure some things out."

"It seems there are always many things you want to say but cannot." Her voice was soft.

"Aren't you the same?"

Gu Yue fell silent.

After a while.

"Will you return?"

"I will."

"Don't break your promise."

"I won't lie to you."

Gu Yue turned around and looked at Tang Wulin. "Safe travels."

Tang Wulin smiled faintly and took her hand. "You too."

Then he turned and left the rooftop.

After he left, a purple figure knelt on one knee beside Gu Yue. "My lord, if it's inconvenient for you, we can..."

Gu Yue's pupils suddenly narrowed into vertical slits. The overwhelming pressure made the person lower his head instinctively.

"I don't need you to tell me how to do things," she said coldly. "You'd better provoke him less, or you won't even know how you died."

She said blandly, "How are things progressing?"

"Everything is proceeding according to plan." A few drops of cold sweat ran down his face.

"It's time."

"Yes, my lord!"