Unbeknownst even to Tang Wulin himself, this type of ability integration was already very close to the change that Limit Douluos would undergo prior to making that final breakthrough. Even though he was nowhere near that level yet, the effect of this process was still very similar.

All of a sudden, an intriguing feeling welled up in his heart, rousing him from his deep meditative state.

In the instant that he opened his eyes, the first thing that he saw was the brightness outside his window. His bedside window faced the east, and at this moment, the sun was just beginning to rise. 

Tang Wulin caught sight of a wisp of purple in the distance, and his pupils also turned purple as a relaxed feeling of comfort spread through his entire body.

Experiencing the nourishment from the purple qi, he exhaled, and the window was gently pushed open by his expulsion of breath. The pure and fresh air outside immediately surged into his room, nourishing his body and soul.

Everything in his field of view seemed to have become more vibrant and exuberant, and Tang Wulin was struck by how wonderful the world was.

A faint smile appeared on his face, and his arms naturally hung down by his sides. He rose to his feet and made his way over to the window, then laid a hand over the platinum dragon scale hanging in front of his neck, sensing her aura through the scale.

He was completely oblivious to what had happened in the outside world; all he knew was that he was in prime condition.

Trial of Five Gods, here I come! 

The Star Luo Imperial Sports Stadium was already packed to the rafters, and all of its 100,000 seats had been completely occupied just to see a single match.

This one match could end in as little as one or two minutes, or perhaps stretch on for close to 20 minutes. Very rarely did battles between Soul Masters wear on for a long time. However, that still didn't stop everyone from buying expensive tickets to attend the match.

They were all very curious about what the legendary ancient Trial of Five Gods would entail. 

The rostrum was also completely filled, and Dai Tianling and En Ci were both already in attendance. Aside from them, there was the Smiling Douluo, Hu Jie, who sat on the other side of Dai Tianling, while Dai Yueyan was sitting in the second row.

Prior to their match against Shrek's Six Monsters, he would've been completely convinced that this Trial of Five Gods was nothing more than a formality where Tang Wulin was going to be thoroughly embarrassed, but following that match, he had changed his mind.

All of Shrek's Six Monsters had made such drastic improvements; how could Tang Wulin have failed to improve himself?

His decision to accept the Trial of Five Gods and to participate in all five matches regardless of the results were an indication of his supreme self-confidence. Dai Yueyan knew that he wouldn't be able to muster up that level of courage. If he were in Tang Wulin's place, there was no way that he would participate in a trial that he was destined to lose.

When he arrived at the sports stadium and felt the enthusiastic atmosphere from the countless spectators present, he felt for the very first time that perhaps his little sister had made the right decision. Tang Wulin was indeed outstanding and worthy of her fancy, but just the thought of Tang Wulin's immediate rejection toward her struck him with a sense of rage.

After drinking with Shrek’s Six Monsters, his discontent toward them had decreased significantly, and all of Shrek’s Six Monsters were also on the rostrum, so they were considered to be special guests.

They were all seated in the second row alongside Dai Yueyan, and in contrast, only Dai Yueyan and Long Yue of the Eight Monster Kings had been granted a seat on the rostrum.

As for Dai Yun'er, she was currently sitting in a corner that was even closer to the competition platform; this was a special privilege granted to her as the princess.

"Is Tang Wulin here yet?" Dai Yueyan asked.

Yue Zhengyu replied with a smile, "He got here quite a while ago. Do you think he's going to bail out, Your Highness? If so, there's no need to worry about that."

Dai Yueyan raised an eyebrow. "All of you seem to be very confident!"

Yue Zhengyu replied, "Do you believe in miracles, Your Highness?"

Dai Yueyan pursed his lips. "I only believe in power."

Yue Zhengyu chuckled, "Then back when we defeated you for the first time, was that a miracle or a true reflection of power?"

Dai Yueyan had no response to this.

"Our captain is the best miracle-worker in the world. Who knows? Maybe he'll win the entire trial, even though it's clearly weighed heavily against his favor," Yue Zhengyu said with a nonchalant shrug.

Dai Yueyan harrumphed, "We'll see about that. Let's see how long he'll last in this match and whether he'll actually be able to finish all five matches."

Xie Xie, who was sitting beside Yue Zhengyu, suddenly mused, "This event is being broadcast live to the entire Star Luo Empire; I wonder what everyone's reaction will be if Boss wins this first match."

Dai Yueyan pursed his lips with disdain, clearly discounting this as an impossible scenario. However, had he really not considered this possibility before? It was undoubtedly the case that Dai Tianling had done something very underhanded and forcibly tied the Tang Sect to the Star Luo Empire. 

The Tang Sect could've denied the public statement released by Dai Tianling by declaring that they weren't going to participate in the Trial of Five Gods, and nor was their sect leader even in the Star Luo Empire. However, they couldn't do that.

The Tang Sect's status in the Star Luo Empire was far different from its status in the Douluo Federation. Even though the tactics employed by Dai Tianling had been rather sly, the Star Luo Empire had always strongly supported the Tang Sect, so there was no way that the Tang Sect could choose to turn on the Star Luo Empire at a time like this.

The Star Luo Empire was undoubtedly going to benefit immensely from promoting this event, while the Tang Sect would be oppressed to an even greater extent in the federation. As a result, they would be more likely to lean toward the Star Luo Empire and exclusively sell their precious resources to the empire.

However, there was also another scenario that would bolster the reputation and minimize the benefits the Star Luo Empire derived from this. That scenario would be if Tang Wulin could secure victory in all five matches of the Trial of Five Gods.

If that were to happen, then this would be a win-win situation, and the Tang Sect would even benefit more greatly than the Star Luo Empire.

However, could Tang Wulin really achieve such a feat? It was simply far too difficult.

The Trial of Five Gods wasn't a best-of-five trial where three victories would suffice; he had to win all five matches. It was exactly due to this rigorous condition that this trial was able to decide the relationship between two nations during ancient times.

The probability of Tang Wulin winning all five matches was infinitely approaching zero. Dai Tianling's original plan was to create a win-win situation, but he had changed his mind in the wake of Tang Wulin's rejection of his daughter.

It wasn't like he had no regrets at all about this decision, and nor did he wish to drive a wedge between the empire and the Tang Sect due to something like this, but Tang Wulin and Dai Yun'er had truly infuriated him.

Whenever he thought back to when Dai Yun'er had said that she would be willing to become Tang Wulin's concubine, he would be struck by a sense of fury.

There would be many chances for him to make amends with the Tang Sect in the future, but he had to vent his rage here first.

"Teacher, how much of a chance do you think Tang Wulin has of winning this match?" Dai Tianling asked.

En Ci's brows furrowed slightly in contemplation. "30%."

"30?" Dai Tianling was very surprised to hear this. His teacher had always been very conservative, and Tang Wulin was only in his early twenties, so a 30% chance of victory was already a very high evaluation for this first match of the Trial of Five Gods.

"Don't underestimate Tang Wulin, Your Majesty. I heard from Long Yue that he had zero confidence if he were to go up against Tang Wulin now, which means that Tang Wulin's powers are at least comparable to those of a Titled Douluo, so don't be fooled by his cultivation rank. On top of that, I could sense during our meeting in the palace that he's already reached the Spirit Domain realm, and there's a very good chance that he's already attained a spiritual domain." 

Dai Tianling heaved a faint sigh. "The Tang Sect really is filled with exceptional young talents."

En Ci smiled, and made a rare attempt at flattery. "But they'll all serve you in the future, Your Majesty."

A faint smile appeared on Dai Tianling's face upon hearing this, but it was quickly replaced by a hint of vexation. "This brat doesn't know what's good for him! If he had agreed to become my son-in-law, there wouldn't be this much trouble."

If Tang Wulin had agreed to marry Dai Yun'er, he would've been more than willing to keep his visit to the Star Luo Empire a secret. On top of that, the relationship between the Tang Sect and the Star Luo Empire would be improved even further, and a lot of the inhibitions the two sides had toward one another would be erased.

However, Tang Wulin had chosen to turn down the offer, and not only had this enraged Dai Tianling, it had also completely derailed his plans.

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