A thunderous dragon roar rang out, an unyielding cry of fury. The Golden Dragon Spear appeared in Tang Wulin's hand, and his eyes turned golden.
With a furious roar to the sky, a massive golden dragon head emerged from the deep pit. A layer of blue-golden radiance accompanied by strands of Blue Silver Grass appeared inside the dragon head and manifested outward.
Tang Wulin didn't care who his opponent was. Though he knew that, given his cultivation level, winning the championship was difficult, he had entered the Star Dou Battle Network Challenge with the championship as his goal.
A Soul Emperor facing a Soul Douluo? Even so, it wasn't entirely impossible to win.
The massive golden dragon, surrounded by a blue-golden aura, soared into the sky, charging straight at the Crimson Mother.
A fusion of the Golden Dragon King's bloodline soul skill and the Blue Silver Emperor's soul skill — Blood Soul Fusion Skill: Blue Emperor Dragon Ascends to the Heavens!
"Not bad. For a Soul Emperor to unleash such powerful strength, it's quite impressive. But if I lose to you, I won't be able to explain myself," said the Crimson Mother. Behind her, a pair of flame wings slowly spread open. Though it was just a single pair, they overlapped in layers, carrying countless phantom images.
A terrifying suction force emanated from those wings, instantly drawing in the Blue Emperor Dragon Ascends to the Heavens.
Then, a vortex of flame suddenly appeared beneath Tang Wulin's feet. Just as he was preparing to escape with the Golden Dragon Spear in hand, another wave of terrifying suction pulled him in instantly.
"Contestant No. 98, victory."
An electronic prompt rang out immediately.
This match, in most people's eyes—
Had no suspense whatsoever.
A peak Soul Douluo versus a just-advanced Soul Emperor? There was no way for an upset.
Tang Wulin, a Soul Emperor.
Making it to the finals was already considered extremely lucky.
Facing a peak Soul Douluo from the Spirit Pagoda, it wasn't shameful to lose.
Only Chen Xinjie and Long Yeyue wore expressions of disbelief.
They knew Tang Wulin's strength better than anyone. He absolutely had the power to fight a Soul Douluo.
Even if he couldn't defeat the peak Soul Douluo Crimson Mother, he shouldn't have lost so helplessly.
Before the match, they had investigated the Crimson Mother.
Crimson, age 33, born in a small town near Mingdu, once served as vice principal of a second-rate advanced academy, and only recently joined the Spirit Pagoda.
She wasn't even considered a true member of the Spirit Pagoda.
Her combat power shouldn't be comparable to a true Soul Douluo nurtured by the Spirit Pagoda's millennia of heritage.
Long Yeyue and Chen Xinjie had thought that even if the Crimson Mother was a peak Soul Douluo, Tang Wulin would at least be able to fight her, maybe even win.
After all, recently, they had put all their energy into guiding Tang Wulin's cultivation.
His "father" Sea God , as well as Tang Hao and A Yin, were also instructing him.
With so many masters teaching him, Tang Wulin's strength was improving by leaps and bounds every day.
If Long Yeyue hadn't crippled his Xuan Tian Gong cultivation in Mingdu, he would already be a Soul Sage.
And now, he had actually lost to such an unremarkable existence.
Both Long Yeyue and Chen Xinjie found it hard to believe.
Little did they know, in this entire Star Dou Battle Network Challenge across the Federation, the two most dangerous contestants were none other than Gu Yue and this "Crimson" they had looked down upon.
Within the limitation of no powers beyond Titled Douluo allowed in the Star Dou Battle Network, only Gu Yue could go head-to-head with the Crimson Mother.
"Wulin!" As soon as the match ended, Long Yeyue rushed anxiously to the front of Tang Wulin's Star Dou pod.
Just now, Tang Wulin had clearly been "killed" inside the virtual network.
Although it wasn't real death, it was definitely unpleasant.
Clack! The pod opened.
Tang Wulin sat up inside, his face deathly pale, his entire skin tone showing an unhealthy whiteness.
"Wulin, are you okay?" Long Yeyue quickly grabbed his hand and asked with concern.
Seeing Long Yeyue so worried about Tang Wulin, Chen Xinjie felt a deep sense of jealousy. "If only Moon Moon cared about me like that, I'd gladly die for her."
"Evil... Soul... Master!" Tang Wulin said weakly.
"Evil Soul Master? What do you mean?" Long Yeyue furrowed her brow. Chen Xinjie, seeing how drained Tang Wulin looked, quickly stepped forward and placed his hand on his shoulder to transfer soul power into him.
This was his chance to perform in front of Long Yeyue — how could he miss it?
With Chen Xinjie's soul power replenishing him, Tang Wulin's complexion improved slightly. Gritting his teeth, he said, "My opponent was an Evil Soul Master. Her ability is just like my Golden Dragon Spear — she can devour the opponent's energy, soul power, life force, and even spiritual power. The moment I was engulfed by her flames, I felt all my energy instantly drained. Thankfully it was in the Star Dou Battle Network. If it had been in the real world, my soul might have been devoured too. I'm sure of it — she's definitely an Evil Soul Master."
A strong hatred flared in Tang Wulin's eyes. Shrek Academy and Tang Sect had been destroyed by Evil Soul Masters from the Holy Spirit Cult using a Level-12 God-Slaying Fixed Soul Ammunition.
How could he not hate Evil Soul Masters?
Hearing Tang Wulin's words, Long Yeyue's fury ignited. Her fists clenched, making creaking sounds, and she said coldly, "Leng Yaozhu and Leng Yulai took down the Holy Spirit Cult's base, but didn't punish many Evil Soul Masters. So this is where they all went — they were absorbed into the Spirit Pagoda! Vice principal of some academy? All lies created by Leng Yaoshu. This Crimson is definitely a remnant of the Holy Spirit Cult."
"Alas, I never expected Heavenly Phoenix Douluo to fall so low," Chen Xinjie sighed softly.
"Hmph, Shrek Academy suspected the Spirit Pagoda of colluding with Evil Soul Masters decades ago. And it's actually true," Long Yeyue said coldly. "We originally thought the one colluding was Qiangu Dongfeng — who knew it was Leng Yaozhu. No wonder we could never find any evidence. It's all Yali's fault, that wretched woman. If not for her, maybe Shrek Academy could've exposed Leng Yaoshu and found the evidence long ago."
The more she thought about it, the angrier Long Yeyue got.
It was all Yali's fault. As Sea God Pavilion Master, she refused to sacrifice herself for Shrek Academy, and worse — she actually trusted Leng Yaozhu, who had colluded with Evil Soul Masters.
"When Dark Phoenix Douluo went missing, the Federation high command already suspected she had fallen to the Evil Soul Master path. But due to Heavenly Phoenix Douluo's status and the lack of evidence, they never pursued it," Chen Xinjie added.
"Hmph, Heavenly Phoenix Douluo? Today you may be high and mighty, but one day I'll drag you down from your pedestal. The higher you climb, the harder you'll fall," Long Yeyue said, hatred growing ever deeper in her eyes.
She had disliked Leng Yaozhu for a long time.
She used to be recognized as the strongest woman in the Douluo Plane, one of Shrek Academy's anchors. But with Leng Yaozhu's rapid rise, her glory was instantly stolen.
Now, with the revelation that Leng Yaozhu had colluded with Evil Soul Masters, her hatred had reached its peak.