Tang Wulin asked, "Now that you mention it, where is Xiaoyan?"
The golden-haired man was none other than Yue Zhengyu in disguise, and he smiled as he replied, "She told me that she has her own path to pursue, and she didn't tell me where she went before she left, but I can roughly guess her destination. Don't worry, I already contacted her, so she should be here in one or two days. You may have become the champion of the Star Battle Net Inter-federation Competition, but we've improved quite a bit as well! You better not let down your guard lest you get beaten by us!"
Tang Wulin rolled his eyes in response. "When Xiaoyan gets here, you two can fight me two on one."
Yue Zhengyu's eyes abruptly lit up. "I'm taking you up on that offer! Don't start crying when you lose, though!"
Tang Wulin was rather taken aback to hear this. "Sounds like you're really confident! You've progressed to the Soul Sage level, right?"
A proud look appeared on Yue Zhengyu's face. "Of course! It was a piece of cake."
Tang Wulin said, "Let's go somewhere else; this isn't the right place to talk."
He then released Yue Zhengyu's hand, and the two of them walked along the street side by side. Yue Zhengyu looked around at the city, and sighed, "It feels good to be back. It's just a pity that this isn't Shrek City."
A slightly dejected look then appeared on his face. Not only did Tang Wulin have an extremely strong bond with Shrek Academy, Yue Zhengyu had been at Shrek Academy three years more than Tang Wulin, so he was actually even closer with the academy. Otherwise, he wouldn't have worked so hard during this past period of time.
"By the way, I'm already a colonel, and don't go saying I made it to that rank through my familial connections! Even my strict grandpa didn't say anything. What about you?" Yue Zhengyu nudged Tang Wulin with his shoulder.
Tang Wulin chuckled, "You seem pretty excited! Looks like you must've had a hard time in the Southern Legion."
Yue Zhengyu shrugged in response. "I did nothing aside from cultivate every day, and after Xiaoyan left, I didn't even have anyone to talk to. Then again, it's not like I had the spare time to talk to anyone anyway. By the way, where's everyone else? I'm not the first one to have arrived, am I?"
Tang Wulin replied, "So what if you're first? It just shows how eager and conscientious you are. Everyone else will probably arrive in the next few days as well."
Yue Zhengyu suddenly fell silent, and only after a few seconds did he heave a long sigh. "It's really good to be able to see everyone again."
Tang Wulin didn't respond and merely bumped him with his shoulder. Indeed, it really was fantastic to be reunited with his friends. He already had the Blood Dragon Squad by his side, as well as the support of Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect, but no one provided better support to him than the friends that he had been with for so many years! They were the current Shrek's Seven Monsters, and they were a unified entity.
"Oh, by the way, Zhengyu, I've got some good news for you: you're now an elder of the Sea God's Pavilion and can participate in Sea God's Pavilion meetings."
Yue Zhengyu faltered slightly upon hearing this, but as opposed to being elated by this news, a wry smile appeared on his face instead. "Elder of the Sea God's Pavilion? Are we just giving ourselves these titles now? It's not like there's anyone else left aside from us."
In order to give everyone a surprise, Tang Wulin had refrained from revealing the fact that there were still so many members of Shrek Academy who were alive at the Tang Sect.
Yue Zhengyu seemed to have realized that he was being a spoilsport, and he forced a smile onto his face as he said, "In that case, as the leader of Shrekâs Seven Monsters, shouldn't you be the Sea God's Pavilion Master?"
Tang Wulin nodded in response. "I sure am!"
Yue Zhengyu chuckled, "Alright, then let's support this new Sea God's Pavilion together! We'll definitely be able to revive Shrek Academy, right?"
"Of course," Tang Wulin replied in a voice that was filled with conviction.
Yue Zhengyu then lowered his voice, and said, "Hey Boss, seeing as no one else is back yet, shouldn't you be giving me the title of vice-pavilion master? You can give the other spot to Yuanen or Xinglan. The Sea God's Pavilion usually has two vice-pavilion masters, right?"
A hint of a smile appeared on Tang Wulin's face. "We'll discuss this with everyone during the Sea God's Pavilion meeting. As you know, the Sea God's Pavilion has always been renowned for its fairness and openness; everything has to be discussed with everyone."
Yue Zhengyu shrugged in response. "Can't you make an exception? There are only seven of us anyway. Oh, I almost forgot, there's still Her Majesty, the Holy Spirit Douluo. Is she not willing to be the pavilion master? Has she still not recovered from her trauma?"
Tang Wulin sighed, "It's not that easy to recover from something like this. Her heart is already dead, and if she weren't determined to see the revival of Shrek Academy, I'm afraid she would've most likely..."
Yue Zhengyu's expression also fell upon hearing this. "Truth be told, rebuilding Shrek Academy is going to be a very difficult task. Before I came here, my grandfather told me many things regarding the current situation, and he's very pessimistic about our chances."
Tang Wulin's heart stirred slightly upon hearing this. "The Southern Legion belongs to the Eagle Faction, right?"
Yue Zhengyu nodded in response. "The Southern Legion is rather special in that it's situated in quite a wealthy region and is also quite far away from all other legions. Generally speaking, the legion doesn't participate in political battles, but our Yue Family descends from the former master of the Spirit Hall, and our family ethos states that the Star Luo Empire is our enemy. Hence, if the federation declares war on the Star Luo Empire, the Southern Legion will definitely support the cause."
Tang Wulin nodded before asking, "What about rebuilding Shrek Academy? Will the Southern Legion support us?"
A wry smile appeared on Yue Zhengyu's face. "It'll be very difficult to garner their support. I don't want to dent your confidence, but I have to tell you the truth; my grandfather explicitly told me prior to my departure that he and the Southern Legion won't support the rebuild of our Shrek Academy as doing so could greatly impact our entire family."
Tang Wulin had already guessed that this would be the case, but he still couldn't help but be a little disappointed to hear this notion being confirmed.
"However, at the very least, my grandfather said that the Southern Legion won't oppose the revival of Shrek Academy, and he even proposed two possible scenarios where they'll be willing to lend us their support. The first scenario is if we can display sufficient power to combat all of those who are opposed to the revival of Shrek Academy, and the second scenario is if I become a four-word battle armor master. If I ever reach that point, I will inherit the role of legion commander from my grandfather, and the legion will lend us their assistance for my sake. However, neither of those sets of criteria will be easy to fulfill."
Tang Wulin nodded upon hearing this. Indeed, both sets of conditions were quite difficult to satisfy.
Barring extremely special circumstances, most Soul Masters could only become four-word battle armor masters after reaching at least the Hyper Douluo level, and a lot of the time, just reaching the Hyper Douluo level was still insufficient as one required heavenly refined metals to become a four-word battle armor master.
There weren't that many Hyper Douluos, but there definitely wasn't a small number of them, either. However, every heavenly refinement that Divine Blacksmith Zhen Hua completed was extremely taxing to him, and after completing one suit of four-word battle armor, he would have to rest for a long time before he could replicate the feat. Hence, he very rarely accepted heavenly refinement jobs now.
"We'll find a way; you can count on me." Tang Wulin patted him on the shoulder.
Yue Zhengyu turned to him with a slightly surprised expression. Not only had Tang Wulin not been disheartened by this bad news, his eyes were still glowing with confidence.
"Looks like becoming the champion of the Star Battle Net Inter-federation Competition has instilled you with a lot of confidence, Boss! I have to commend you for that."
Tang Wulin smiled, and replied, "Confidence stems from ability. Come with me..." He dragged Yue Zhengyu into a nearby alley as he spoke.
After releasing his spiritual power to verify that there were no prying eyes around, he led Yue Zhengyu into a small courtyard, and when they arrived in the underground world of the Tang Sect, Yue Zhengyu was also given a massive shock.
"Th, this is..."
The awe-inspiring underground world had shocked him beyond words. He looked at all of the busy workers and mechas being churned out on the production lines, and he couldn't help but gulp in astonishment.
"Everything here belongs to the Tang Sect?" Yue Zhengyu asked in a stunned manner.
Tang Wulin nodded in response. "And it also belongs to us."
Tang Wulin led him to the door of a room, and before he had even pressed the doorbell, the door opened on its own.
Lan Muzi strode out from within before smiling at the sight of Tang Wulin and extending a respectful bow. "Pavilion Master."
"No need for formalities, Senior Disciple Brother Lan," Tang Wulin replied with a smile and a nod. After Long Yeyue's reminder, he was trying to act more befitting of his current status.
Lan Muzi then quickly caught sight of Yue Zhengyu, who was staring at him with his mouth gaped wide open.
"Long time no see, Junior Disciple Brother Zhengyu."
Yue Zhengyu was so shocked that he had developed a stutter. "Se, Senior Disciple Brother Lan, you, you're not dead? You, you..."
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