Tang Sect's Invitation
Regaining his bearings, Wu Zhangkong turned towards the kids and nodded. "Come here."
The quartet approached before him. Having the worst results, Xie Xie hung his head low, his heart filled with self-deprecation.
As these thoughts surged in his mind, a bright light flashed, and the quartet disappeared in a spatial wave.
With another light flash, they found themselves in an expansive office. It was at least 200 square meters in area. Off to one side, there was a large office desk and a white sofa across from it.
"Take a seat. There are a few matters I need to discuss with you four," Wu Zhangkong said as he pointed to the sofa.
Confused, the four sat on the sofa nonetheless.
Wu Zhangkong took a seat across from them.
"Each of you must have felt that today's test was strange. You all had different opponents who, at some point in time, were all Soul Masters that had lived on this continent. Unfortunately, only seventy percent of their true strength can be replicated by the simulation. How did you compare to your opponents?"
All of them immediately recalled their opponents, and tried to compare themselves to them if they were 70% stronger.
After a bit of thought, the conclusion all of them came to except Gloxinia was that they would lose, 100% of the time.
As for Gloxinia, even if the girl he faced had 100% more strength, he would still win.
"I brought you all here for two reasons. First, you are nearing the limits of how much spirit energy you can absorb in the spirit ascension platform. After entering a few more times, you'll reach that limit, so you need another place to gain real combat experience. Compared to the spirit ascension platform, the Hall of Heroes can provide even better combat experiences as the injuries you receive in there are all real. Of course, you'll automatically be ejected when you're injured to a certain degree. There also won't be any mental rebounds like you received in the spirit ascension platform when you had your bodies destroyed. In other words, the experience you gain in the Hall of Heroes is even more valuable than in the spirit ascension platform.
"Second, this test is actually unrelated to your final exam. Your final exam had already ended in the rebellion spirit ascension platform and your scores have already been given. The test here is instead an entrance test to an organization. If you become a member of this organization, you'll be able to accumulate points in the future to use the Hall of Heroes again."
'Organization? Seems like he's going to introduce the Tang Sect to us.. heh.'
Xie Xie and Gu Yue stared at Wu Zhangkong with curiosity while thinking, So Teacher Wu is actually part of some organization.
Tang Wulin on the other hand, was in deep thought, as Teacheer Wu had already told him he belonged to an organization, he just didn't know it was such a peculiar one.
"Teacher Wu, what does this organization do?" Xie Xie asked. He was from a large clan, so he couldn't casually join any organization; the fact that this organization was able to have a base here in Eastsea City's technology park, however, meant that its background should be nothing to laugh at.
Wu Zhangkong asked, "Have you heard of the Tang Sect?"
Tang Sect?
Hearing these two words, the trio began to tremble with excitement.
The Tang Sect? It's the Tang Sect!
How could they not have heard of it before? There was practically no one in this world who didn't know of the Tang Sect! Legend had it that the Tang Sect had existed from the ancient era until now. It could be said that the greatest historical events of the Douluo Continent all involved the Tang Sect in one way or another.
The Tang Sect's founder was the guardian of the continent 20,000 years ago. It was rumored that he had ascended to godhood!
With the Tang Sect's founder leading the first generation of Shrek's Seven Monsters, Shrek Academy had also risen to power in that era. It could be said that without him, Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect would not have become such legendary existences.
At that time, the Martial Soul Hall had been ambitious in its attempts to conquer the entire continent and unite it under one banner. Against them, the Tang Sect founder assembled the forces of nations and Soul Masters to fight with the Martial Soul Hall in a final, decisive battle. In the end, he stood on the side of victory.
It was said that while wielding the Sea God's Trident, he had ascended as the Sea God.
It was possible for someone on the continent to not know of the Spirit Pagoda, but it was impossible for them to not know of the Tang Sect.
As time went on, the Tang Sect had nearly withered away due to the advancement of soul device technology, when suddenly, another legendary figure appeared out of nowhere. That was right, he was the founder of the Spirit Pagoda, as well as the creator of spirit souls. His mark on history had completely altered the structure of the world of Soul Masters to this very day.
After the Tang Sect's resurgence into power, they had never declined again. Though, it was rumored that, along with the Star Luo Empire and the Heaven Dou Empire, they had long relocated to the two other continents. In the last thousand years or so, they were rarely spoken of, but their legend had never been forgotten.
The trio was truly shocked at the utterance of the two words that represented such a legendary organization. Could it be that we're in the Tang Sect right now?
"Teacher Wu, didn't the Tang Sect already disappear? Or move to the other two continents?" Tang Wulin blurted out in disbelief.
Wu Zhangkong shook his head. "No, the Tang Sect never truly disappeared. While it's true that the Tang Sect has founded bases on the other two continents like the Spirit Pagoda, but the Tang Sect has never left the Douluo Continent. The federal government knows of the Tang Sect too, but for the sake of adapting to the current societal norms, the Tang Sect now operates in a low-key manner. After all, the Tang Sect's reputation is truly too great. The building we're in is actually owned by a company under the Tang Sect; the Dazzling Era Tang Sect Technology Company. They developed the Hall of Heroes as a learning system, and the opponents you just fought were once members of the Shrek Seven Monsters."
Gloxinia was electrified. He recalled his opponent with the newfound realization of her identity. "My opponent… was she in the same generation as the Spirit Pagoda's founder from the Shrek Seven Monsters ten thousand years ago? The possessor of the Three Cycles Soul Cauldron and the Nine Phoenix Flute, Xiao Xiao the Phoenix Flute Douluo?"
He had actually never realized who she was during the fight as he hadn't read much of douluo dalu 2 and only saw bits and pieces of the wiki.
Thus, only when Wu Zhangkong reminded him of it he remembered who she was, as he had learned a lot of legends about the past since coming to this world.
Gu Yue's eyes were blank. Wu Zhangkong glanced at her, not particularly surprised at her expression. "Gu Yue, your opponent was the Spirit Pagoda's founder, the Spirit Ice Douluo Huo Yuhao back when he only possessed two soul rings."
"So you three shouldn't be discouraged. You were defeated by powerful legends after all. If you do well in the Hall of Heroes and keep rising up, you might even get the chance to battle the original Shrek Seven Monsters one day."
"As for Gloxinia who managed to defeat them.. well, he's a monster in his own right."
Hearing Wu Zhangkong's words, Gloxinia became a bit confused, was he unable to see the extra trial he went through? When he fought against Tang San?
"So, do you all want to join?"
Hurriedly responding without even a second thought, Tang Wulin said, "I want to join!"
Echoing him, Xie Xie also said "I want to join too."
Wu Zhangkong cautioned them, "You don't need to decide so quickly. You can go home and ask your family first."
Xie Xie shook his head. "There's no need. I don't want to miss out on such an opportunity. Teacher Wu, I will join. I'm sure I can convince my family too."
Tang Wulin's and Xie Xie's gazes drifted to Gu Yue and Gloxiniaa. Neither of them knew whether they would join or not, but it was indisputable that their performance was the best out of all of them today.
In reality, their only requirement was to pass the first trial of the medium level to be eligible for membership. The trials after that were to push them to their limits.
"I'm sorry, Teacher Wu. Wulin, Xie Xie, I won't join," Gu Yue said with utmost calm. There wasn't a single shred of regret in the depths of her eyes, as if she was only dealing with a mundane matter.
"Huh, why?" Xie Xie and Tang Wulin asked in unison.
Gu Yue simply shook her head. "There's already another organization that I want to join, so I can't join the Tang Sect."
Tang Wulin wanted to say something, but Wu Zhangkong cut him off. "That's fine. Everyone has their own ambitions, so it's fine as long as you have thought things through properly. Gu Yue, you're very talented and would be able to shine no matter where you go in the future. With this being the case, I'll make some other arrangements for the combat component of your education."
"Thank you, Teacher Wu." Gu Yue curtly nodded.
Still in disbelief, Tang Wulin approached Gu Yue. "But Gu Yue, it's the Tang Sect! The Tang Sect that has traditions from 20,000 years ago and countless mysteries!"
There was a slight change in Gu Yue's expression, but her mind was firm. She shook her head once more at Tang Wulin's words. "I'm sorry Wulin. I had already decided to join the Spirit Pagoda before we came here, and they require that I don't join any other organization."
While Tang Wulin was stunned at these words, Wu Zhangkong's eyebrows jumped up in surprise. When did the Spirit Pagoda approach Gu Yue? They made their move so quickly!
But Gu Yue's excellence had been apparent from the beginning. Regardless of whether it was during the rebellion period or the ordinary spirit ascension platform, Gu Yue had always demonstrated extraordinary strength and potential. Neither Tang Wulin nor Xie Xie could compare to her, especially with her never-before-seen martial soul which could control six elements. Moreover, her control power was formidable, allowing her strength to far surpass her peers. The Spirit Pagoda had undoubtedly paid a tremendous price to rope her in.
It was exactly as she had said. There would be some disputes if she joined the Tang Sect after joining the Spirit Pagoda.
Wu Zhangkong's gaze returned to Gloxinia, "And you? Are you joining?"
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Words: 1920
Author's Note: Alright so the love interest is set in stone now. A lot of people want to know what it is, so if enough people ask me to spoil it I'll add it in the comments next chapter.
Thank you for so many collections and powerstones!