"Thank you," Tang Wulin replied with a genuine and benevolent smile. He was extremely handsome to begin with, so his energetic smile was very endearing.

The lieutenant said, "Come with me; it's been a while since we had our last new addition. You're a handsome young lad, but I have to caution you that no matter where you come from, arrogance is a cardinal sin here. The Blood God Legion is no ordinary army; only exceptional prodigies are recommended to this place, but less than a third of them actually get to stay here. I can see that you're a polite young man, and I hope that you'll be able to stay here."

Tang Wulin asked, "Are we commencing the trial right away? There's no need for registration?"

The lieutenant replied, "There's no need for that. You were only brought here after your identity was verified, and there's no point in registering you prior to your completion of the trial. As for why we're commencing the trial right away, there's a simple explanation; your enemies will never tell you when they're going to strike."

Tang Wulin's expression stiffened slightly upon hearing this. Indeed, Shrek City had been completely taken by surprise by its enemies.

"You're right."

The lieutenant led Tang Wulin out of the room and into what appeared to be a warehouse. "You can choose any weapon from here, but remember that you won't be able to use any soul power in the upcoming trial. Hence, you'll only be able to rely on your body and the weapon of your choice, so make sure to pick one that you're more adept at using."

A trial where usage of soul power was prohibited? Tang Wulin's heart jolted slightly upon hearing this. Would his bloodline power be affected as well?

There were all types of weapons in the warehouse, many of which were modern soul weapons, including things like laser guns and soul cannons. There were weapons to cater to everyone, and all of them were portable weapons that were suitable for single combat.

Tang Wulin could only recognize around a third of all of these weapons, and all of the weapons he recognized were ones that he knew how to use. However, after some careful consideration, Tang Wulin stepped forward and chose a long black alloy staff. Even if he couldn't use his bloodline power, he was still supremely confident in his own strength. As for long-range soul weapons, he could use some of them, but he certainly wasn't good at it. He was only proficient at using long-range attacks when piloting mechas.

The lieutenant raised an eyebrow upon seeing his choice, and a slightly forlorn look appeared on her face.

"Looks like you still chose your pride over practicality. Come with me." Her tone had turned rather cold and unfriendly, but she didn't say anything further. She led him out of the warehouse before entering an extremely massive building at the center of the base.

The tip of the building was of a conical shape, and it was around 50 meters tall, making it the tallest building in the entire base. After passing through a set of doors, Tang Wulin finally caught sight of some other soldiers.

There were several dozens of people in here, all of whom were wearing white military uniforms. The uniforms were very beautiful to behold, and each of them had a Snow God Eagle crest on the chest, identical to the one on his introduction letter. No one paid any heed to Tang Wulin and the lieutenant. However, Tang Wulin discovered from the epaulets of the soldiers here that they were all military officials, and even the lowest-ranked ones among them were second lieutenants. There were no ordinary soldiers among them.

Could it be that this was the control base of the Blood God Legion?

The lieutenant led Tang Wulin over to an elevator, and the doors opened before the two of them walked inside. All of a sudden, a cold voice sounded.

"Hold on."

Another person entered the elevator just as the voice rang out.

Tang Wulin discovered that this was a female soldier with a pair of major epaulets on her shoulders. It was none other than the female major that had led Tang Wulin into the barracks. She had already removed her thick coat, so she was only wearing her white military uniform at the moment. Her uniform was completely devoid of creases, and she was looking very sharp with her pristine white uniform and golden epaulets.

"Major!" The lieutenant immediately extended a military salute, and the major also returned the salute. However, this salute really didn't suit women all that well. She was very tall and slender, and also quite beautiful. On top of that, she had a sense of heroic spirit about her that normal women didn't have. However, that certainly didn't arrest her physical development in the slightest, and her chest rippled like jelly as she extended her chest-thumping salute. Tang Wulin's lips twitched involuntarily upon seeing this.

"I'll supervise him during his trial; you can go back," the major instructed.

The lieutenant faltered slightly upon hearing this. "You're going to oversee his trial in person?"

The major nodded in response. "That's right. I've assessed the footage of how he got here, so I'll be overseeing his trial."

"Yes!" The lieutenant extended another military salute before exiting the elevator.

The doors of the elevator closed, and Tang Wulin could sense that it was traveling in a downward direction. Thus, he and the female major were the only ones in this rather small enclosed space.

Tang Wulin cleared his throat, and said, "Hello, Major, my name is Tang Wulin."

"You'll refer to me as superior," the female major said in a cold voice.

"Yes, Superior," Tang Wulin hurriedly replied.

"Stand up straight!" the female major commanded.

Tang Wulin faltered slightly before doing as he was told. He wasn't used to being ordered around like this, but he decided to bear with it after recalling what the lieutenant had told him earlier.

The female major didn't say anything else, and she certainly wasn't displaying any intention to introduce herself. Moments later, the elevator doors opened following a crisp "ding".

After exiting the elevator, they passed through a metal corridor before turning left, and Tang Wulin was led into a room by the major.

After entering the room, a surprised look immediately appeared on Tang Wulin's face as he was struck by a sense of deja vu.

Why did this look so much like the entrance to the Spirit Ascension Plane of the intermediate Spirit Pagoda? There was a series of glass covers around the room, and judging from their sizes, it was undoubtedly the case that they were designed to hold people.

The major made her way over to the control panel, and her hands flew rapidly over the keys as she typed in a series of commands.

Two of the glass covers slowly rose up, and all of the apparatus in the room also lit up.

"Have you been to the Spirit Ascension Plane before?" the major asked.

"I have," Tang Wulin replied in a truthful manner.

The major nodded, and said, "The setting of your trial will be similar in nature to the Spirit Ascension Plane, and your mission is very simple; protect me in there until the conclusion of your trial."

"Alright." Tang Wulin nodded before making his way over to one of the raised glass covers.

The major's eyes narrowed slightly before she quickly followed along, and she cautioned, "As a reminder, you won't be able to use your soul power in there, so the only thing you can rely on is yourself and your weapon, understood?"

"Understood." The lieutenant had already informed him of this earlier. At the same time, Tang Wulin had also formed a basic judgment about this trial. The setting would be similar to that of the Spirit Ascension Plane, and he couldn't use any soul power to fight the enemies in there.

After walking into the glass cover, it slowly closed, and a series of metal plates were pressed against his body. Metallic rungs appeared behind him to fix his body into place, and the surrounding area suddenly became brighter.

It had been a long time since Tang Wulin had last visited the Spirit Ascension Plane, and he closed his eyes as he carefully felt all of the changes taking place around him. A slight pain speared through his limbs before converging in his brain, and a string of shudders ran through his body before his brain became completely blank.

Tang Wulin could faintly sense the stimulus from the electrical currents, changes in the statistical fluctuations, and also spatial energy fluctuations.

These were things that he hadn't been able to sense in the past, and they'd only become apparent to him as his spiritual power had reached the Spirit Abyss realm.

There wasn't really any discomfort, and when he opened his eyes again, he found himself situated on a vast expanse of snow with the alloy staff that he'd chosen in his hand. What was even more surprising to him was that the barracks that he'd just entered were situated nearby.

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