The inter-continental call was soon connected, and Gu Yuena's pleasant yet calm voice sounded from the other end. "I heard you wanted to speak to me, Chairman."

Qiangu Dongfeng's expression eased significantly upon hearing her voice. "Have you grown acclimated to the conditions over there, Nana?"

All of the people present in the conference chamber were high-ranking members of the Spirit Pagoda, and it was very rare for them to see Qiangu Dongfeng putting on such a benevolent display. They all understood that Qiangu Dongfeng was putting on a display to show them just how important Gu Yuena was to him.

Indeed, this spirit envoy was truly a freakish talent. Not only was she extremely powerful, her family had made many significant contributions to the Spirit Pagoda during the past few years. This was a mysterious and ancient family, and it was only with their assistance that the Spirit Pagoda had managed to devise the method for creating black soul spirits. On top of that, they were able to do so while minimizing costs, and that had been a major contributing factor to the current lofty status of the Spirit Pagoda.

Qiangu Dongfeng was encouraging his own grandson, Qiangu Zhangting, to pursue Gu Yuena, not just for her looks and powers; what was more important to him was gaining the support of Gu Yuena's family. Currently, the Spirit Pagoda was still collaborating with that family in the development of a very important project. As such, Gu Yuena held a very special status in the Spirit Pagoda, and in Qiangu Dongfeng's heart, even Leng Yaozhu ranked below her.

Qiangu Dongfeng was hoping that Gu Yuena would marry Qiangu Zhangting, and that the two of them would inherit the Spirit Pagoda together to take it to greater heights. When that time came, he would focus all of his energy and attention on pursuing ascension to that higher world.

"I have, thank you for asking, Chairman," Gu Yuena replied.

"Nana, I'm sure you're aware of the current situation with the Tang Sect in the Star Luo Empire; can you tell me anything about that Tang Wulin? I heard from your teacher that you used to be classmates with him, right?"

Gu Yuena was silent for a moment before replying, "That's right, we used to be classmates, but we went our separate ways when he became part of Shrek's Seven Monsters while I joined the Spirit Pagoda."

"What kind of person is he? Do you know how he became the Tang Sect Master?" Qiangu Dongfeng asked.

Gu Yuena replied, "I don't know how he became the Tang Sect Master so quickly, either. He does indeed possess outstanding aptitude and natural leadership qualities, which is why he was able to become the leader of Shrek's Seven Monsters. I once fought alongside him in the Star Luo Empire, and he was always the true core of our team. He's very independent and likes to help others, but he's also very headstrong and resistant to taking in advice. I had lost contact with him following the Shrek City bombing, and this is the first time I've seen him since then."

Qiangu Dongfeng quickly latched onto the flaw in Tang Wulin's personality that Gu Yuena had disclosed, which was his headstrong nature. As long as he had fallacies that could be exploited, it wouldn't be difficult to bring him down.

"Seeing as you two were former classmates, would you be able to take advantage of this opportunity to approach him and see if you can get some information out of him? Cao Dezhi and Zang Xin must have their considerations for making him the Tang Sect Master at such a young age, and we have to find out these reasons as soon as possible. I'm sure you're already aware that the Tang Sect has already declared war on us. Under these circumstances, we have to gather more information on them so we can formulate the best strategy to counter them."

Gu Yuena faltered slightly upon hearing this. "You want me to approach him?"

"That's right. We haven't announced to the outside world that you're a spirit envoy, so he shouldn't be aware of your status. You can try to approach him, but make sure to prioritize your own safety above all else. Have you been watching the matches in the Trial of Five Gods?"

Gu Yuena replied, "I have. He just won the third match not long ago; you should be able to see the footage soon."

"He won again? Is there no one with any semblance of competence in the entire Star Luo Empire?" Qiangu Dongfeng's voice abruptly spiked up a few octaves, and his aura became noticeably more agitated as well.

"The Tang Sect sure is innovative; they're piling pressure on us here in the federation while promoting themselves in the Star Luo Empire, hmph!"

Even through the intercontinental communication system, Gu Yuena could sense Qiangu Dongfeng's powerful killing intent.

"Alright, I'll try to approach him. Should I inform Vice-chairman Zhang of this?"

Qiangu Dongfeng replied, "I'll notify him of this. He has truly disappointed me. Send me a report containing all of the information you have about Tang Wulin, and make it as detailed as possible; we're sorely lacking in information about him at the moment."

"Alright," Gu Yuena replied.

......

Tong Yu opened his eyes in a disoriented manner to find nothing but darkness all around him.

He tried to sense everything around him, but the only sensation he could feel was one of crippling feebleness.

This type of feeling didn't seem to be death. As death had approached him back in the sports stadium, he had felt as if his consciousness were moving toward another world. His body was completely weightless, and there was no pain, nor any elation.

However, at this moment, he was feeling completely feeble, and it was as if his body had lost all of its vitality. Could it be that he hadn't died?

How could this be? At the time, his life force had clearly been completely exhausted!

......

"Thank you for your hard work yesterday, Your Majesty," Tang Wulin said to the hooded Holy Spirit Douluo as they walked on the bustling streets of Heaven Dou City.

Yali smiled, and replied, "As a healing system Soul Master, being able to help treat others gives me great pleasure; I'm very glad that I was able to help him."

Tang Wulin said in a heartfelt manner, "You really are the most kind person in the world."

The Holy Spirit Douluo had managed to drag the Qilin Douluo back from the brink of death the day before. Without her, he'd be nothing more than a cold hard corpse at this point.

A reminiscent look flashed through Yali's eyes. She could still remember that night, when she had been standing in his arms beside the Sea God's Lake.

......

"There are so many exceptional and beautiful women who love you; why did you choose me?"

"I chose you because you're the most kind woman in the world. I want to spend the rest of my life protecting and cherishing your purity and kindness. The Sea God's Lake isn't very big; it only has enough room for a single Sea God's Island. My heart isn't very big, either; it only has enough room for you."

......

Tang Wulin could sense the sudden emotional fluctuations from the Holy Spirit Douluo, and he turned to discover that a film of tears had appeared over her eyes.

He realized that he must've triggered the recollection of a sad memory within her, and he wanted to say something in apology, but couldn't find the right words in the end.

The imperial sports stadium had been surrounded in a virtually airtight manner. The venue wasn't even open yet, but there was already an enormous crowd gathered outside.

There was a staggering number of people holding banners that expressed their support of the Tang Sect, and there were also some banners that were inscribed with the words "Qilin Douluo". It was quite clear that they had already forgiven him. Of course, in their hearts, he was also dead.

En Ci had expressed an urge to hide the fact that Tong Yu was still alive from the general public. After all, he was a Limit Douluo, and if a war were to break out, Tong Yu would be an invaluable secret trump card.

As Tang Wulin and Yali passed through the crowd, all of the people before them automatically parted without even noticing it themselves. However, if one were to look down from a bird's eye perspective, they would see that the two of them weren't being impeded by the crowd at all, and nor did the people in the crowd realize that someone was gliding past them.

"You've improved further in the control over your own powers." Yali finally broke the silence again.

"I did indeed make some improvements," Tang Wulin replied in a truthful manner.

Even though only three days had passed since the commencement of the Trial of Five Gods, he could clearly sense that the rate at which he was integrating his own powers and abilities had been rapidly accelerating. As a result, he had finally integrated everything that he had gained from his recent breakthroughs, and his powers had been enhanced significantly.

"The Star Luo Empire has lost three consecutive matches already, so they're definitely going to throw a powerful opponent at you today. Look after yourself."