Tang Wulin truly felt that he was a completely different person after he absorbed the tenth Golden Dragon King's seal. Not only did he grow a new pair of wings, but his twin cores were also different. His complementing yin-yang vortices had formed a heaven and earth bridge. His strength felt different, and even his martial soul had changed.
Tang Wulin felt helpless after discovering that not only did his current strength not increase, he had become weaker instead. Regardless of how great a power he had, if he could not control it, he would not be able to display its full strength!
Nevertheless, it was still a good start. Just how much benefit the tenth seal had brought him, he could only verify it through actual combat.
"Beep, beep, beep!" At this very moment, the Blood God Bracelet on his wrist was activated.
After Tang Wulin looked at the number, a faint smile immediately appeared on his face. It was truly like giving a pillow to someone who was sleep-deprived.
"Hello, Commander Ma. Oh, I've been cultivating in seclusion these past few days and have just wrapped up. Sure! I'll log onto the Star Dou Battle Network right away. We'll meet at the combat area," Tang Wulin said with a smile.
It was Ma Shan who called. He invited Tang Wulin to a sparring session in the Star Dou Battle Network.
He flexed his limbs with a few simple movements and felt the changes in his body. At the very least, he could control his body without much trouble. Also, his body had undergone much change.
He went into the Star Dou Cabin and connected to the Battle Network.
He found Ma Shan in no time. Ma Shan's nickname was his own name. With his personality, he never liked anything flashy.
"Brother, you've come! Let's get down to business. This time, I'll be fighting with all my might. Let's see just how powerful this new Blood Nine is!"
Tang Wulin said with a smile, "Sure! I've been wanting to test my strength."
Ma Shan paid the fees of two thousand Federation coins on his own accord for the use of the combat stage. In the next moment, the two of them appeared on the competition stage.
Tang Wulin silently felt the changes in his body. His arms hung naturally by his sides and his eyes were slightly squinted. There was a faint glow flickering within his eyes.
Ma Shan looked at Tang Wulin who stood opposite him. As he listened to the electronic countdown, he suddenly felt that his opponent seemed to have changed.
'Did he grow taller? He also seemed to have been working out lately. Why are his eyes so bright? Also, the air about him seems different somehow. He's clearly smiling, but why is he giving me this sense of danger? It's as if there's something ferocious and barbaric contained within his body.'
The short electronic countdown had finished. Ma Shan had plenty of experience in actual combat. Although he was confounded, he would definitely not allow it to affect his judgment. He unleashed his martial soul at the first opportunity. He unleashed his Titan Ape. His body enlarged, and eight soul rings arose.
Simultaneously, Tang Wulin took a deep breath. His body flashed with lights and five golden soul rings arose from his body.
Five golden soul rings! After he had broken through the tenth seal, he had another bloodline soul ring skill.
He arched his body forward and his pair of dragon wings immediately burst forth under the control of his thoughts.
The instant his dragon wings were released, Tang Wulin felt a flow of heat spreading all over his body. It seemed his powers were enhanced tremendously at that moment.
The sensation was so strong that he was not fully prepared for it when his body levitated from the ground.
'It's not a battle armor? A wing? Is this his martial soul's talent? Why are his soul rings golden?'
A flurry of questions sprung up within Ma Shan. Meanwhile, he unleashed his first and third soul skills. While his body continued to enlarge, he charged toward Tang Wulin in great strides.
The Titan Ape was sheer power. Every time its feet hit the ground, the ground would shake. Ma Shan had reached Tang Wulin after taking only a few steps. He balled his hands into fists and hurled them at Tang Wulin.
Tang Wulin did not unleash his Golden Dragon Spear at the moment. For now, he wanted to test his body's condition. He wanted to know the kind of changes his body had experienced after harmonizing with the tenth Golden Dragon King's seal.
He raised both arms before him and blocked Ma Shan's fists that were like giant hammers. To be safe, he unleashed his Golden Dragon Body. The golden dragon scales instantly crawled onto his skin to completely cover his body.
Amidst the intense explosion, Tang Wulin's body which was in midair was struck down.
Ma Shan had not used his full strength when he fought Tang Wulin at the forging workshop back then. Currently, he did not need to hold back inside the Star Dou Battle Network. The force displayed by an eight-ring, true power Soul Douluo was extremely terrifying.
However, Tang Wulin merely crashed onto the ground. His arms had firmly blocked Ma Shan's attacks.
He felt great. Tang Wulin clearly felt his Dragon Core within his chest pumping continuously. The blood essence power was distributed all across his body. Ma Shan's immense strength did not give him much pressure.
He stomped the ground with his right foot, the Golden Dragon Shakes the Earth!
He did not use his Blood Soul Fusion Skill. It was purely the Golden Dragon Shakes the Earth.
An explosion sounded! A low dragon's roar triggered the formation of golden dragon patterns appearing within a radius of twenty-five meters. Shortly after, a giant Golden Dragon brazenly shot up from under Ma Shan. It sent his colossal body flying.
Ma Shan felt his entire body tense up. An invisible pressure instantly appeared in his heart. The soul skill that he had planned to unleash next was interrupted.
The Golden Dragon which sent him flying instantly turned into eight dragons in the air. The eight dragons suddenly converged on Ma Shan's body, impacting it in full force.
While Ma Shan was stunned, his fifth soul ring was unleashed. A giant ape's illusory shadow appeared behind him. His entire body unleashed a dazzling luster.
Even so, when each golden dragon erupted on his body, a great charge of golden current would be set off which shook his body terribly.
Tang Wulin raised his palms skyward. The Golden Dragon Soars to the Heaven!
A giant Golden Dragon more than thirty meters long shot out from his palms. With a sonorous dragon's roar, it struck Ma Shan's body which sent him reeling.
Ma Shan flew a good fifty meters before he dropped to the ground. He did a flip and hammered his chest with his hands. His second soul ring shone and a dense layer of energy burst forth from within him. He finally got rid of the golden lightning. In the aftermath, he looked slightly beaten.
Without using his Blood Soul Fusion Skill, he had managed to send an eight-ring Soul Douluo reeling by merely using the Golden Dragon Shakes the Earth and the Golden Dragon Soars to the Heaven. It was completely due to the enhancement of his blood essence power.
Tang Wulin had made an accurate judgment. Under the condition where both of them did not use their battle armors, his combat strength, with the tenth seal's enhancement of his body and without using his martial soul, would be on par with an eight-ring Soul Douluo's. It was also due to the Titan Ape, being purely a power-type martial soul, which was similar to Tang Wulin's martial soul. If that were not the case, the effects would not be so great either. After all, different soul masters had different skills.
Nonetheless, Tang Wulin could take pride in this. He had managed to send the powerful Iron Blood Battalion's commander reeling. The substantial improvement of his combat strength was a powerful enhancement for him. With the addition of his battle armor, martial soul, and consolidation of his cultivation base, he would truly stand a chance against Blood Nine.
The years of cultivation were slowly beginning to bear fruit. His slow cultivation during his early years and continuous accumulation had finally allowed him to have a sequence of breakthroughs during this period. He finally had some substantial improvements and could be remotely considered an "expert".
"Good! Again!"
After the loud yell, Ma Shan was charging toward him again. This time, his seventh soul ring shone. Huge swathes of hair appeared on his body. He did not grow taller, but the giant ape's illusory shadow behind him merged with his actual body and he turned into a giant ape.
Martial soul avatar, the Titan Ape!
Ma Shan's domineering air was at a completely different level after he unleashed his martial soul avatar. His power had broken through a critical point. It even caused the air around him to show signs of shattering and contorting.
Tang Wulin's gaze began to get serious. The Golden Dragon Claws appeared on both his hands. He tapped the ground lightly with the tip of his left foot and did a vertical leap into the air. He extended his dragon wings behind him and flap them forcefully.
He wanted to know the effects his dragon wings could give him.
As he flapped his wings, Tang Wulin immediately felt huge amounts of origin energy coming from his dragon wings which spread all over his body. Then, his body flew outward in a straight line.
Just when he wanted to stabilize himself, he noticed that the dragon wings' acceleration was too great. When he flapped his wings, his Dragon Core's energy was directly infused into his wings without reserve.
He could not change his direction even if he wanted to!
The Ma Shan-transformed Titan Ape saw Tang Wulin who was charging toward him. He squatted down while facing him. Then, he stood up forcefully.
Tang Wulin could only manage to put his arms weakly beneath him before his body was sent flying by Ma Shan's headbutt. He flew as high as a hundred meters and crashed onto the protective barrier above the competition stage. He bounced up again to crash onto the ground.