He had entered this state of mind following his defeat to Gu Yuena during the Joust For a Spouse event. From that time, he knew that there would be no way for him and Gu Yuena to be together in the short term.

He didn't know why Gu Yuena was doing this despite the fact that she clearly loved him, but he could sense that no matter what he did, there was no way he would be able to convince her to return to his side for now.

This was simply far too painful and cruel for him to bear, so he had constantly been subconsciously rejecting this reality.

There were too many things that he had to take care of, including his own cultivation, management of Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect, dealing with the Spirit Pagoda, dealing with the military…

All of this required his attention and effort, and he had no time to waste on personal matters.

Besides, he didn't know what he was supposed to do anyway. Gu Yuena wasn't going to come back voluntarily, and that led to a subconscious and perhaps irrational urge to become even more powerful.

Perhaps only once he became sufficiently powerful would he be able to bring her back, so he had always been striving toward the pinnacle.

At the same time, he could tell that Gu Yuena was also making rapid improvements. His only hope was that someday, when both of them stood at the very pinnacle of this world, no one would be able to stop them from being together.

He had several theories pertaining to Gu Yuena's identity, and he could only hope that the worst of those theories wasn't the correct one.

Long Yuxue's words had struck a chord deep in Tang Wulin's heart, and a dejected look quickly appeared in his eyes.

Long Yuxue's heart jolted slightly upon seeing this. This was the first time that she had ever seen Tang Wulin like this. He had been acting completely normal just a moment ago, yet he now seemed completely broken and lost.

Was this still the same Tang Sect Master and Sea God's Pavilion Master who had held himself with so much composure in the face of so many Limit Douluos?

"I'm sorry, Wulin. Are you alright?" Long Yuxue hurriedly asked.

Tang Wulin shook his head as a hint of clarity returned to his eyes, and a wry smile appeared on his face. "You really are very observant. As you can see, if I allow myself to open up, I won't be embracing happiness; I'll only be releasing all of the negative emotions I've been repressing this entire time. Do you really think this is a good mental state for me to be in?"

Long Yuxue fell silent upon hearing this. She didn't know what to say to console Tang Wulin. After a long while, she finally said, "You're being way too hard on yourself. My only hope is for you to be happy; can you do that for me? Perhaps we'll never be together. You don't have any room in your heart for me, but I'll be satisfied as long as you're happy."

Tang Wulin sighed, "Why are you putting yourself through this, you silly girl? I'm not a good match for you. I'm someone who enjoys a quiet life the most. Before I turned six, I was constantly by my parents' side, living a life with no worries or concerns. From six years of age, I began to study forging. Even though the days were very long and grueling, I had a target to work toward as I had an adorable little sister by my side. After that, I went away to study, and my parents suddenly disappeared. At the time, they had most likely been abducted by the Holy Spirit Cult or the Spirit Pagoda, and all of a sudden, I had no family.

"It was her and my friends who had always been by my side throughout my youth. That was the most depressing period of my life, and she was the one who ensured that I remained grounded despite not knowing my place in the world. She was like a seed that had been planted into my heart, and before I knew it, that seed had grown into a massive tree." 

"Who is she? Is she the one who saved you during that abyssal tide?" Long Yuxue asked.

Tang Wulin nodded in response. "She's saved me more times than I can count. I don't know why she can't be with me, but I know that we only have room for each other in our hearts; that's the final shred of hope that I'm clinging onto. After this battle, I'll put an end to all of this; I'll bring her back to my side no matter what."

Long Yuxue nodded in a slightly sullen manner. "I'm really envious of her. How I wish I was the one who had planted that seed. Looks like I simply came around too late."

A smile appeared on her face as she spoke, and it was slightly bitter, but also seemed to allow her to come to terms with some things.

Just as Tang Wulin was about to say something, Long Yuxue suddenly asked, "Can I hug you? Just this once?"

Before Tang Wulin had a chance to reply, she quickly stepped forward and wound her arms around his waist, pressing her cheek tightly against his chest.

Tang Wulin was struck by a reflexive urge to push her away, but he could feel her body trembling slightly, as well as a hint of moisture on his chest.

He heaved a forlorn internal sigh and couldn't bring himself to push her away in the end. Instead, he gently stroked her long hair in a consoling gesture.

After a full minute had passed, Long Yuxue seemed to have finally worked up the courage to release him from her embrace.

"Thank you. That puts an end to my one-sided first love. Can we still be friends in the future?" Long Yuxue was putting on a brave smile, but her eyes were still slightly red, and the smile was also rather strange.

"Of course, we'll always be friends," Tang Wulin replied in a firm voice.

"Alright, I'm going now. Look after yourself."

Tang Wulin nodded in response. "You should all move in to the nearby barracks; the aura of the secondary tree of life will be very beneficial to your cultivation and for improving your physical constitution. If you're lucky, perhaps your martial soul could even undergo a positive mutation."

"Alright, thank you." Long Yuxue seemed to have already returned to normal, and she extended a military salute toward Tang Wulin before departing.

Tang Wulin heaved an internal sigh of relief at the sight of her departing figure. If she really had let go of him in her heart, then that would be for the best. After all, he couldn't give her anything, and he was afraid to hurt her, so it was ideal that he was able to make her understand the situation through relatively tactful means.

Unbeknownst to him, in the instant that Long Yuxue walked out of his cabin, the tears came flowing uncontrollably down her face.

Despite this, there was a smile of absolute determination on her face. "You're a stubborn mule, but unfortunately, I'm just as stubborn as you are."

The entire human army had already sprung into action, and the orders issued from the meeting were being carried out.

At this point, over 700,000 troops had already gathered on the northern front, including over 400,000 ground units and close to 200,000 troops stationed on the three naval legions. This was primarily because the foot soldiers of the three naval legions had already arrived on land to further bolster the ground units.

The ground units comprised the main firepower for this battle, and the naval legions were primarily there to lock down the coastline and assist the ground units with long-range fire.

All of the preparatory work was complete by the next morning, upon which the leaders of the military and major Soul Master organizations gathered once again in the conference hall.

After reports of all of the preparatory work were made, all that was left was to wait until the commencement of the attack.

A faint yet determined smile appeared on Tang Wulin's face. He had to give it his all in this battle.

Due to the rejection of the plane, the Holy Lord most likely hadn't descended upon the continent yet. Otherwise, as the Son of Nature and the one chosen by the plane, he would definitely be able to sense it if a godly being had arrived on the plane.

He was hoping that the Holy Lord would never be able to descend upon this plane. It appeared that the rejection of the Douluo Plane was still considerably effective against the abyssal plane, but it was unclear how many abyssal emperors and sovereigns had already arrived.

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