The Legend of the Dragon King

Tang Wulin let out a deep breath, expelling the tension within him. “That’s great. Please divide my bonus points between my classmates who are in risk of failing.”

“Are you sure?” Wu Zhangkong asked. “Your points will determine whether you can enter the inner court or not.”

Tang Wulin stood firm. “Yeah. I have no doubts that the points are only one aspect of the assessment anyway. Isn’t strength also a deciding factor? Plus, we won a lot of honor for Shrek this time. The Academy should be giving us more than just bonus points! Did the higher-ups say anything about a reward?”

“Yes. In fact, the academy has rewarded me already. They docked one year’s bonus for using Shrek’s name in a conflict with a rival academy and nearly damaging our reputation. Do you still want a reward? I can ask the Academy for you.”

Tang Wulin gawked at Wu Zhangkong, his hands a pair of blurs in his gesture of refusal. “N-no! I’m fine! I don’t have any money! None at all!”

Wu Zhangkong couldn’t help but crack a wry smile. “Are you sure? Don’t blame me later, okay?”

“Yeah! I don’t want it!” Tang Wulin answered, no hesitations. Just thinking about the fines Elder Cai had imposed on him still brought him to tears.

“I see. Then I shall refuse in your stead. Though, you wouldn’t be penalized for your match since it was part of your exam and I promised to take responsibility as your teacher.” He shrugged. “I guess I’ll inform Elder Cai that you don’t want a spot in the Shrek Seven Monsters competition.”

“Huh?” Tang Wulin struggled to break free of shock. “Teacher Wu, why do you have to be like that? You’re just playing tricks on me again!”

Voice tinged cold, Wu Zhangkong said “Trick you? What do you mean by that?”

Tang Wulin blinked a few times, taken aback by his teacher’s sudden change in aura. It’s fine to tease me, but could you not put on such an cold expression while you’re at it? I can barely tell you’re joking! Jeez!

“Apart from that, the entire class was awarded ten extra points in celebration of your victory. With these extra points, no one is in danger of failing this semester. You’ve proven yourself an excellent class president.”

Tang Wulin stood silent and still, clearly trying to process what had just been said. A beat later he was up in the air, pumping his fist with a grin. Yes! This is great!

“There are still a few more days until the rest of your classmates get back. Just rest for now, said Wu Zhangkong. “Will you be staying on campus or going somewhere for the upcoming vacation?”

“I’m going to stay. I don’t have anywhere to go anyway.” With Tang Wulin’s parents still missing and with no other family to speak of, staying on campus was the best option. Besides, he still had to obtain the four spirit items needed to break the fourth seal. Otherwise, to say things wouldn’t look too good would be an understatement. There was no way he’d risk letting the seal collapse on its own. He had to take the initiative.

“Hm. Alright. Teacher told me to relay a message to you,” said Wu Zhangkong. “You are invited to stay with him for a few days during your vacation. He wants to guide you in your cultivation.”

“Okay!” Tang Wulin could hardly stop smiling, eager to learn more from Zhuo Shi. Golden Dragon Shocks the Heavens had strengthened him by leaps and bounds. As such, he could only imagine what else Zhuo Shi had in store for him, especially with Zhuo Shi’s status as a TItled Douluo and his draconic martial soul.

Wu Zhangkong pointed at the bed. “Now go rest. The exam ends in five days. After everyone else returns, there’ll be a simple class meeting to conclude the semester.”

☀

Severe. This one word fully described the side effects of the Dragon God Transformation. It was a struggle to regain his strength, a heavy lethargy clinging to his body, weighing him down like a sack of bricks. Tang Wulin spent every free moment for the next five days meditating. Although his recovery rate greatly improved since the last time, five days only resulted in regaining seventy percent of his strength. He still couldn’t exert himself much either, otherwise his body would feel hollow again.

Tomorrow marked the final day of class for the semester. Therefore, Tang Wulin decided to visit the local Tang Sect. It had been a long time since he last stepped through its doors, so he needed to report in. He called up Xie Xie and Xu Lizhi and the three went together.

The local Tang Sect was located in the inner city, which Shrek Academy occupied only half of. The other half, naturally, was the domain of the Tang Sect.

The Tang Sect had two headquarters. One in Shrek City and the other in Heaven Dou City. The headquarters in Heaven Dou City was the original while the one in Shrek City was where, under the leadership of the Spirit Ice Douluo Huo Yuhao, the Tang Sect experienced a resurgence in power.

The Spirit Ice Douluo had restructured the Tang Sect. He launched an initiative to research soul devices, combining them with hidden weapons to create weapons of mass destruction. His reforms revived the Tang Sect’s dying glory and elevated the Tang Sect to heights greater than before, a phoenix bursting forth from its ashes. From then on, the Tang Sect’s foundation was unshakeable.

Back in that era, the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy had cooperated to establish Tang Sect’s half of the inner city. The two organizations had close ties for a while, both working together to further the usages of soul devices.

However, with the advent of battle armor, Shrek Academy was quick to adopt the new technology and no longer placed as much emphasis on soul devices. Since then, the two organizations had slowly drifted apart once more.

Upon arriving at the headquarters, Tang Wulin caught sight of a vermillion door. Above it hung a sapphire signboard with golden trim. Golden letters spelled out ‘Tang Sect’. The building had an antique feel to it, short and humble, not spanning an excessive amount of space. Like a building straight from a small town.

Tang Wulin and the others placed their palms on the identification scanner and a moment later, the doors opened to let them in. Having visited once before with Wu Zhangkong, this was nothing new to them.

The first thing on their agenda was to report in and finish the missions they had previously accepted. Updating their personal records was also on the list. They were eager to see how much they had grown.

A smile slide across Tang Wulin’s lips. His soul power reached rank 34. All the food he had shovelled into his stomach hadn’t gone to waste. His cultivation speed had increased ever since he entered Shrek Academy, especially after eating those treasures from Feng Wuyu.

The report didn’t end there. Tang Wulin still had to register his gauntlet.

Although he couldn’t register himself as a one-word battle armor master with the Spirit Pagoda or name his armor until he completed the full set, it was worthy of being recorded down at the Tang Sect. Especially with how much it empowered him.

After the three of them finished reporting, Tang Wulin approached the mission desk. He didn’t have any missions to turn in. Instead, he browsed the spirit item list in search of the four he needed to break his fourth seal. This was his main objective today.

He was soon able to cross two of them off his list. The other two spirit items, while technically on the listings, were of the wrong age level. If he got something too old, then it would be wasteful. Too young and it wouldn’t be strong enough. He sighed. He would have to come up with some other way to get the last two items.

While Tang Wulin calculated his points, contemplating whether he could afford to buy the two spirit items on the listings, a stranger called out to him. “Tang Wulin?”

Tang Wulin stood up straight and turned to see who it was. A middle-aged man of average stature walked over. He had an honest-looking face and a simple smile.

“Hello. May I ask who you are?” Tang Wulin was on high alert. After improving his blood essence, his senses had grown keener. Not even Wu Zhangkong could sneak this close to him without him noticing. But this man had done so. This man had given him a fright. Even as he looked the man straight in the eyes, he couldn’t sense his presence at all. It was as if there were a void where the man stood, as if he were a phantom. But Tang Wulin was certain that the man was real and existed. He simply had a cultivation level far higher than Wu Zhangkong’s.

“Hello, Tang Wulin. I’m Guo Xiaoxu, the general manager of this Tang Sect headquarters.” He examined Tang Wulin as he spoke, looking him up and down. His gaze was gentle, but his eyes were deep and profound and upon first glance, could swallow everything whole.