However, none of this could change the fact that he was still an exceptional agent. The campaign against evil Soul Masters was bound to be a long and arduous one, and witnessing Tang Wulin's performance had dealt him a heavy blow, but as long as he was still alive he would continue to improve himself as an agent.

Yellow One, Yellow Two, and Yellow Four also made their way over to Tang Wulin before expressing their gratitude.

No one knew what the situation in the industrial area was like, so they couldn't bring themselves to rest. As such, they merely stood together in silence. The two black agents only returned when daybreak had almost arrived.

They informed everyone that all of the evil Soul Masters in the industrial area had left, and that Tang Wulin was correct in his judgment that the evil Soul Masters had used the vengeful spirits in the factories. At the same time, they discovered a sacrificial altar buried deep under the ground beneath the factories. From the condition of the sacrificial altar, they deduced that not only had all of the vengeful spirits in the factories been refined, many of the souls of the people who had perished in the recent terrorist attack had also been funneled over to this place to be refined by the altar.

This piece of information left a bad taste in everyone's mouths, but at the same time, the two black agents announced that they'd completed their mission.

Seeing as Tang Wulin had displayed an outstanding performance during the mission, he was going to receive half of the reward while the remaining four members of the team shared the other half.

Purple One and the others were all more than willing to accept this arrangement.

This mission was worth double points in the first place, and Tang Wulin had taken half of the entire reward, so this was a very bountiful haul for him. However, this mission had also left him feeling that there was a lot more that still had to be done as he felt the insolence of the Holy Spirit Cult.

Even with the federation's immense power, they were still unable to weed out the Holy Spirit Cult, and these terrorist attacks were only taking place with increased regularity. They hadn't even found the masterminds behind this terrorist attack, and they'd finally found some leads, only for the evil Soul Masters to make an easy retreat. There had to be someone helping them on the inside, and their backers had to be extremely fearsome.

Purple One drove the Tang Sect battle vehicle back to Shrek City, and everyone received their rewards, following which their temporary team disbanded.

Tang Wulin didn't accept any other missions. Instead, he returned to the academy so he could recover all of his belongings first. After that, he was going to head to Heaven Dou City to visit his uncle-teacher.

Following the completion of his mission, he'd been informed that the blacksmith association of Heaven Dou City hadn't been affected by the terrorist attack. That was one of the only silver linings on this dark cloud.

Everything was still the same in Shrek Academy. Tang Wulin returned to the inner court and the first place he went to was the Sea God's Island to report his return.

Before he had even made it onto the Sea God's Island, he was surprised to find that there was someone standing on the shore.

This man wore a set of white robes and had his hands clasped behind his back. He wore a slightly cold expression on his handsome face, and he wasn't surprised in the slightest by the sight of Tang Wulin's arrival. He waved his hand toward Tang Wulin, and the latter skipped over the water before landing on the shore and extending a respectful salute. "Elder Yun."

That's right, the man standing on the shore was none other than the current master of the Sea God's Pavilion, Atlas Douluo Yun Ming.

Yun Ming nodded slightly in a show of acknowledgment, and said, "Come with me."

He then turned and strode deeper into the Sea God's Island, and Tang Wulin hurriedly followed along.

Yun Ming didn't seem to be walking very quickly, but Tang Wulin had to run as fast as he could just to keep up.

The Sea God's Island wasn't very large, and it only took a short while before the two of them arrived at the Sea God's Pavilion.

After entering the Sea God's Pavilion, Yun Ming didn't stop in the hall. Instead, he made his way up the stairs. Tang Wulin trailed along behind him and appraised their surroundings with a curious look in his eyes.

He wasn't very familiar with the Sea God's Pavilion at all, so he was very curious about this place. This was a wooden cabin constructed on the Golden Tree, and it wasn't very large, but it was one of the most powerful and influential places on the entire Douluo Continent!

Yun Ming led Tang Wulin all the way to the third level of the Sea God's Pavilion before making his way into an empty room.

There were no ornaments or furniture in the room aside from a pair of futons on the ground.

Yun Ming sat down on one of the futons before pointing at the futon across from him. "Take a seat."

Tang Wulin sat down as he was told, and he was quite surprised, as well as curious. Could it be that Yun Ming had been waiting for him?

He wasn't surprised at all that Yun Ming was aware of his return. With his immense spiritual power, he most likely knew that he'd returned from the moment he set foot in Shrek City.

"Have you found any information about Na'er?" Yun Ming asked in a grim voice.

Tang Wulin's heart jolted slightly, and he shook his head with a wry smile on his face. He hadn't found any information about Gu Yue or Na'er.

Yun Ming suddenly said, "You formed a soul power vortex?"

Tang Wulin looked up at him with a surprised expression before nodding in response. Yun Ming's power was simply unfathomable to him. The fact that he was able to identify that he'd already formed a soul power vortex most likely indicated that he could see through Tang Wulin's entire body.

Yun Ming's brows furrowed slightly as if he were contemplating something.

Only after a long while did he ask, "Do you have any questions?"

Tang Wulin shook his head. "Not really. Based on what my teacher told me in the past, I can sense that my soul power vortex is quite normal. The only thing I'm confused about is why it's appeared this early. Shouldn't this be something that only appears on the cusp of reaching rank 70 in soul power?"

Yun Ming explained, "Actually, the formation of a soul power vortex has nothing to do with your soul power rank; the only contributing factor is the density of your soul power. When soul power is compressed to a certain extent, it will begin to approach a solid form. Purely solid soul power doesn't actually exist, so this soul power, which is close to a solid state, has to exist in a special form; rotation. To put it simply, if you were to leave a cup of very rich hot chocolate for a long time, it would naturally congeal into a solid. Similarly, if you were to leave a glass of very concentrated salt water for a while, salt crystals will quickly condense.

"Furthermore, not only do such liquids possess high levels of concentration, the concentration gradients is very even throughout. Soul power follows the same trend. When your soul power reaches a certain level of density, it will naturally form a vortex, and this is simply the natural progression of things. Your soul power will gradually take on a qualitative change until it forms a soul core. Soul power vortexes possess immense suction force and will draw in all of the soul power within your body. At the same time, it's very proficient in drawing natural energies to you, so it'll benefit you greatly in your cultivation. It's very rare for a Soul King like you to form a soul power vortex. Back when I formed my soul power vortex, I was at rank 59 in my soul power. After that, my rate of cultivation between ranks 60 to 70 was the same as that between ranks 50 to 60."

Tang Wulin was given a brand new understanding of soul power vortexes after hearing Yun Ming's explanation. Furthermore, he was surprised to find that Yun Ming was providing guidance to him. He had only formed his soul power at rank 59? Didn't that mean he had surpassed him in that area?

Tang Wulin was quite surprised by this revelation, but he still made sure to commit all of Yun Ming's words firmly to memory. This was a man who was widely renowned as the most powerful being in the current world! The vast majority of Soul Masters would never be blessed with an opportunity like this.

Yun Ming could see that he'd processed all of this information, and he continued, "All you have to do is keep cultivating as normal now. With your soul power vortex acting as a foundation, your cultivation rank will increase very quickly. You can come to the Sea God's Pavilion to find me if you have any questions."

"Yes, thank you, Elder Yun," Tang Wulin said in a respectful manner.

Yun Ming appraised him with a rather complex expression. "I'm a very subjective person, so I don't like you because of what you did to Na'er."

Tang Wulin faltered slightly upon hearing this before a wry smile appeared on his face. He was also filled with guilt toward Na'er.

Yun Ming continued, "However, for the sake of the academy, I shouldn't let my personal feelings get in the way. All of you did very well during the military training on the demonic island. I've already received news from them that you've performed more splendidly than the vast majority of our seniors."

Tang Wulin gave no reply to this. Was he being complimented?

Yun Ming paused momentarily in contemplation, but he still seemed to be unable to make up his mind. In the end, he waved a hand, and said, "You can go now."

"Yes." Tang Wulin hurriedly rose to his feet before departing after extending another respectful salute.

Yun Ming heaved a faint sigh and massaged his brows as he looked on at Tang Wulin's departing figure.

A small door on the side of the room was pushed open, and Holy Spirit Douluo Yali entered the room. She arrived behind Yun Ming before gently massaging his shoulders.

"Are you still unable to make up your mind? Both his personality and his powers indicate that he's going to stand at the pinnacle of the continent in the future."

Yun Ming shook his head. "I still don't like him. We'll wait and see, I guess."

Yali heaved a faint sigh. "Don't push him too far away!"