"Boom!"

Blood mist exploded through the air, and only at this moment did a loud dragon's roar echo throughout the entire competition platform. A massive ferocious-looking golden dragon projection had also appeared behind him, and even though the projection vanished in an instant, it still left all of the onlookers with a very deep impression.

"This... This is simply preposterous!" The commentator was already completely dumbstruck. This was only the first match of the finals of the Star Battle Net Inter-federation Competition that was being broadcast, yet the results had completely stunned everyone.

The commentators all naturally had a very deep understanding of the world of Soul Masters, but no amount of knowledge could prepare them for the incredible scenes they had just witnessed.

All of the finalists here had progressed through their respective regional competition, so there were no weaklings here, yet Number 118 had just been slain in what felt like the mere blink of an eye! The brutal way in which Tang Wulin had crushed his opponent, the dazzling dragon projection, and the deafening dragon's roar at the end had truly stunned everyone on a visual and auditory level.

This number 33's combat prowess was way too insane!

All of the spectators sitting in front of their screens were struck by the exact same feeling; asphyxiation!

That's right, it was asphyxiation. They felt as if they could sense the terrifying pressure emanating from the body of the man on the screen, and all of them were struggling to draw breath even though they weren't actually in his presence.

A large victory sign was displayed on the screen. The battle had concluded after just two attacks, and the entire duration of the match was only less than two seconds. It was definitely the fastest match during this first round of the finals, and perhaps the fastest battle in this entire competition thus far.

Tang Wulin withdrew his golden wings, and the number "33" hovering above his head was shimmering with golden light. As his wings were withdrawn, he vanished amid a flash of light. He had secured victory in the first round of the elimination stage.

He was only a six-ring Soul Emperor, but his combat prowess far exceeded that level! This was the impression that Tang Wulin gave to his competitors.

Even though he had killed his opponent in virtually an instant, the disparity in their powers wasn't actually that significant. His opponent had been killed so quickly mainly due to the fact that he had failed to judge his own situation.

The human body had limits when it came to strength and resistance. At the very least, that was the case before one exceeded a certain cultivation rank. However, the speed and strength that Tang Wulin had just displayed were both undoubtedly on a superhuman level, thereby drawing his opponent to a false conclusion. If he had adopted a fully defensive stance from the very beginning as opposed to trying to retaliate with his sharp spikes, he would've lasted a little longer.

This battle had been an experiment for Tang Wulin; he was experimenting with his control over his current level of strength and speed.

During the past few days, he had constantly been trying to attain greater control over his own strength, and the more he sensed the changes that had taken place within his own body, the more stunned he was by the benefits that the 10th Golden Dragon King seal had brought to him.

In the past, his right golden dragon's claws crushing special effect and his left golden dragon claw’s tearing special effect only had a certain activation probability. However, he could now activate those special effects at will, and his overall control over his Golden Dragon King power had become a lot more proficient.

He had propelled his body forward with absolute speed, and at that insane level of speed, just the impact he'd create by crashing into his opponent would be too much to bear for other Soul Masters of the same cultivation rank, but his own speed didn't affect him at all.

Only after spreading his wings to forcibly arrest his momentum was he struck by a slight sense of discomfort, but it was very minor, and it instantly disappeared as his blood essence power circulated through his body.

In a sense, it could be said that Tang Wulin's current body wasn't completely human. His physical resistance was far superior to that of the average person, and even a Titled Douluo couldn't compare to him in this area. This was why he'd been able to secure such an easy victory.

After departing from the competition venue and logging off from the battle net, Tang Wulin took a moment to reflect on that battle. A faint smile appeared on his face, and he was pleased to discover that he had attained a greater level of control over his own strength.

He set a goal for himself, which was to defeat Blood Nine in a battle that was going to take place in less than a month!

It was undoubtedly the case that if he wanted to defeat Blood Nine again, then the first thing he would have to do would be to hone his control over his newfound power. Only then would he be able to truly harness it.

He was really fond of this violent and aggressive way of battle, and it seemed that his Golden Dragon King bloodline was also relishing this feeling. This was most likely the true nature of the Golden Dragon King!

After putting on his clothes and departing from his dormitory room, Tang Wulin went directly to Blood One's dormitory room. The two rooms were situated very near to one another anyway, and he stopped outside Blood One's door before sending a message to him, telling him that he wanted to ask some questions.

It took Blood One around 10 minutes to reply, and Tang Wulin was just about to leave when Blood One told him that he was ready to see him.

Tang Wulin knocked on the door, and it was quickly opened.

"Come in."

Tang Wulin walked into the room to find that Blood One was seated with his legs crossed, seemingly in the middle of meditation.

"Sorry to disrupt your cultivation," Tang Wulin said in an apologetic manner.

Blood One smiled and opened his eyes as he replied, "There's no need to apologize; I've already reached a bottleneck that's impossible for me to break through anyway. If I try to make that breakthrough, it'll be a trial of life and death, and I'll have less than a one percent chance of survival. If that day ever comes, I'll make sure to invite you to watch me; perhaps the experience will help you in the future."

A wry smile appeared on Tang Wulin's face. "I'd rather not see that happen; the Tang Sect still needs you!"

Blood One continued, "Alright, let's not get into those matters; what did you want to see me for?"

Tang Wulin replied, "I've recently felt like my spiritual power seems to have made a breakthrough, but I don't know what level it's on, and I wanted to ask you about some ways in which spiritual power can be used."

"You made another breakthrough? What level are you at now?" Blood One asked.

Tang Wulin replied, "I seem to be able to sense some energy elements now."

Blood One raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. "You can sense energy elements now? What kind of breakthrough is that? That's an ability that you've attained from the moment you began to be able to sense the existence of your spiritual power."

Tang Wulin cleared his throat in a rather awkward manner. "It's a little different; what I'm saying is that I can now see different colors of energy particles in the air now..."

Blood One faltered slightly upon hearing this, and immediately thereafter, his eyes widened as his pupils noticeably contracted. His pupils then changed colors, with one of them turning into a purple color while the other adopted a golden hue, and two bursts of substantial purplish-golden light surged toward Tang Wulin.

Tang Wulin's brows furrowed slightly, but he made no effort to evade. A purplish-golden color also appeared in his eyes, and it wasn't anywhere near as pronounced as the color in Blood One's eyes, but it was clearer and purer.

The two bursts of purple light only came into slight contact with one another before Tang Wulin immediately sensed a burst of vast spiritual power envelop his entire body. He wasn't experiencing any discomfort from this, but he felt as if his entire being had been laid bare before Blood One.

All of a sudden, his dragon core suddenly began to thump violently, and a hint of reddish-golden color suddenly seeped into his purple pupils. A vicious aura erupted from his body, and the feeling of being laid bare instantly vanished. The blood essence within his body churned, and a low dragon's roar erupted from his entire body as a show of intimidation.

"Er..., that wasn't intentional," Tang Wulin said with an innocent look on his face.

Blood One had a very peculiar look in his eyes as he appraised Tang Wulin, and he also withdrew his Purple Demon Eyes.

"I can see that you're already quite advanced in the Spirit Abyss realm, but how is that possible? Your spiritual power shouldn't have been able to progress so quickly even if you'd begun cultivating it as a fetus!"

The fact that even Blood One was astonished was a testament to Tang Wulin's current level of spiritual power. In particular, the fact that his bloodline power could fuse with his spiritual power was even more astonishing.

Blood One's eyes narrowed slightly as he said, "There's no need for you to undergo specific testing on your spiritual power; the fact that you can see energy elements in their true forms indicates that you've reached the minimum threshold of the Spirit Domain realm."

Tang Wulin asked, "Then what should I do from now on?"

Blood One replied in a calm manner, "Keep experiencing things. Once you can clearly sense all of the energy around you, you can try to control them with your spiritual power. Make sure you completely refrain from using your soul power and blood essence power, and only use your spiritual power to try and control them, as well as to resonate with them. The moment that you complete that step is the moment that you'll be setting foot into the Spirit Domain realm. This is going to be a long and boring process, but at your level of spiritual power, it'll naturally increase over time, so don't try to rush things and just go with the flow."

"I understand," Tang Wulin replied. It was much better to receive guidance from Blood One than to stumble around like a headless chicken. From what Blood One was telling him, it seemed that all he had to do was cultivate as normal, so that was quite simple.

Blood One's expression changed slightly as he appraised Tang Wulin. "Something seems to have happened to you. Your powers have increased, and your blood essence power has become even denser. Also, it's different somehow... It feels like your blood essence power has come alive.