Douluo, my clone Groudon

Chapter 317, Section 316: Revenge Should Not Be Waited Until Tomorrow, Preliminary Round
"Hmph, you made me, the princess, look so humiliated, and you still want to live a peaceful life?"

Dai Yun'er snorted inwardly, but her smile grew even brighter as she walked gracefully toward Tang Wulin.

“My friend from Shrek,” Dai Yun’er’s voice was clear and melodious, with just the right touch of coquettishness, “I’m so sorry for the misunderstanding earlier. To express my apology, would you do me the honor of dancing with me?”

She slightly bent her knees and performed a standard courtly invitation, her posture perfect and impeccable.

Countless gazes instantly focused on them. There were envious and jealous looks from the young talents of the Star Luo nobles, and scrutinizing and amused looks from the members of the Federation delegation.

Refusing a princess's invitation to a public event, especially after an "unpleasant" incident, is undoubtedly very impolite and will only attract more attention.

Warning bells rang in Tang Wulin's mind.

He had absolutely no liking for this spoiled princess. Whether it was the previous conflict with the guards or the scream that almost caused chaos just now, although he knew there was something fishy going on, Dai Yun'er was the instigator. But under everyone's watchful eyes, he simply couldn't refuse.

"Your Highness is too kind. It is my honor." Tang Wulin could only bite the bullet and awkwardly return the greeting, following the aristocratic etiquette he had learned from memory, before extending his hand.

A sly glint flashed in Dai Yun'er's eyes as she gently placed her hand on Tang Wulin's, and the two stepped onto the dance floor.

The music was melodious, but Tang Wulin's dance steps appeared particularly "heavy" and "clumsy." It wasn't that he couldn't dance at all; he had received some basic etiquette training through the Soul Network before coming here.

But at that moment, a brilliant idea popped into his head—pretend! Pretend he can't dance at all!

So, under Dai Yun'er's expectant gaze, Tang Wulin began his "performance".

"Ouch!" Dai Yun'er exclaimed softly, feeling her left foot being firmly stepped on, leaving a clear shoe print on her carefully maintained dance shoe.

"I'm so sorry! Your Highness, I... I'm not very good at dancing this..." Tang Wulin looked flustered and apologetic, and was in a flustered state.

On the next spin, he "accidentally" stepped on Dai Yun'er's right foot again.

"Hiss..." Dai Yun'er gasped in pain, her smile faltering.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I was too nervous..." Tang Wulin continued to apologize "sincerely," his movements becoming even more "stiff."

In the short dance, Dai Yun'er felt as if her feet had been run over several times. Her carefully designed plan to embarrass Tang Wulin seemed to have been outmaneuvered by him in an even more "clumsy" way.

She maintained a sweet smile, but the anger and resentment in her eyes were almost bursting out.

'You bastard Tang Wulin, how dare you step on this princess! You just wait!' Dai Yun'er gritted her teeth inwardly.

When the song ended, the two parted ways. Dai Yun'er endured the pain in her foot, her smile still bright, even carrying a hint of more "ardent" light.

Just as the music faded and everyone's attention hadn't completely shifted, Dai Yun'er suddenly raised her voice, speaking in a tone that was loud enough for half the hall to hear, tinged with a girlish shyness and longing:
"Tang Wulin! Your dance is... well... quite unique," she paused deliberately, eliciting a low chuckle, "but I, the princess, know your strength. You were able to easily subdue my guards on the street; you're very strong!"

She abruptly changed the subject, her voice becoming clearer and more resonant, carrying an undeniable air of declaration:

"I've made up my mind! If you win the championship of this Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament, I'll agree to be your girlfriend!"

boom--!
Upon hearing this, the entire banquet hall fell into an eerie silence, which was then followed by a huge uproar!
"what?!"

"Your Highness... you want to choose that boy from Douluo Continent as your consort?!"

"Champion?! Are you kidding me? The championship can only belong to us, Xingluo!"

"A toad trying to eat swan meat, what is he anyway!"

"..."

Countless gazes, like tangible arrows, instantly focused on Tang Wulin. These gazes were filled with disbelief, shock, jealousy, anger, and naked hostility.

The young talents, especially those from the Star Luo Empire, looked at Tang Wulin with eyes that practically spitting fire.

Princess Dai Yun'er is the only jewel of the Star Luo royal family and the dream lover of countless young Star Luo soul masters. This Douluo Continent brat, who seems to have appeared out of nowhere, what merits does he possess to receive such a promise from the princess in public?! And on the condition of winning the tournament! This is simply a provocation to all the young generation of Star Luo soul masters!

Tang Wulin was completely stunned. He never expected Dai Yun'er to pull such a stunt. This was even worse than kicking her a hundred times!

He instantly felt like he had become the target of everyone's criticism, as if he had been thrown into a boiling pot of oil! He opened his mouth, wanting to explain or refuse, but Dai Yun'er didn't give him the chance at all.

After she finished speaking, she winked at him playfully, as if to say "Good luck!" Then, like a light butterfly, she turned and drifted away, leaving Tang Wulin alone to endure the hostile gazes that seemed to engulf him.

Gula, holding a glass of red wine, stood at the edge of the crowd, calmly watching this dramatic scene unfold.

He looked at Tang Wulin's blank expression, as if asking "Who am I? Where am I? What happened?", and then glanced at the Xingluo youths around him who wished they could devour him whole. The corners of his mouth curved upwards almost imperceptibly.

From their first meeting to Tang Wulin falling asleep, their relationship seemed to accelerate rapidly.

Gula tilted his head back slightly, finished his glass of red wine, and said, 'Is this the function of the Chosen One? Connecting people and things that resonate with one's own nature.'

He seemed to be deep in thought. Although he still found it difficult to utilize his immense fortune, he had gained a different understanding of it.

The commotion here naturally alerted the most central area of ​​the banquet hall.

Emperor Dai Tianling of Xingluo was talking with high-ranking members of the Federation delegation when he heard the sound. He frowned slightly and turned to look.

When he saw Tang Wulin surrounded by countless hostile gazes and looking somewhat helpless, a subtle glint flashed in his deep eyes.

He walked slowly over, holding a wine glass. As he passed, the crowd automatically parted to make way, and the noise quickly subsided, leaving only the sound of suppressed breathing.

Dai Tianling walked up to Tang Wulin, and his powerful imperial aura made the surrounding air seem to freeze.

He looked Tang Wulin up and down, his gaze lingering for a moment on Tang Wulin's young yet resolute face and his formal attire, which, though somewhat restrained, could not conceal his upright bearing. Finally, it seemed to sweep over a faint martial soul mark on Tang Wulin's wrist, which Tang Wulin had inadvertently revealed.

“Young man,” Dai Tianling’s voice was calm and magnetic, revealing neither joy nor anger, “you are Tang Wulin? From Shrek Academy?”

Tang Wulin took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in his heart, and respectfully bowed: "Your Majesty, yes."

“Hmm,” Dai Tianling nodded slightly, a seemingly gentle smile on her face. “Yun’er is young and mischievous. You don’t need to take what I just said to heart. It’s good that young people are energetic and have goals. With the competition just around the corner, just do your best.”

His words sounded like he was trying to help his daughter out of a predicament, and also like encouragement for Tang Wulin, but the deeper meaning and the invisible pressure they contained made Tang Wulin's heart even heavier. Both the royal family and the retainers tacitly believed that Long Yue would be the number one person in the Star Luo Empire in this era, and also Dai Yun'er's most perfect husband.

Whether it's due to Long Yue's potential or the kindness of his teacher, the Limit Douluo, this marriage is not subject to Dai Yun'er's will.

After Dai Tianling finished speaking, she looked at Tang Wulin deeply again, as if she wanted to remember him completely. Then she turned around and returned to the core circle, as if she had just casually chatted with a young junior.

But those few words and a seemingly casual glance were like adding fuel to the fire.

His Majesty the Emperor personally intervened. Although he did not explicitly support the princess, he also did not severely reprimand her for her misbehavior. In fact, he even encouraged the boy!
What does this mean? Does His Majesty truly condone the princess's "joke"? Or... is there something special about this Tang Wulin?!

The young talents of the Star Luo Empire looked at Tang Wulin with even more hostility, their hostility almost tangible.

This Shrek Academy student from Douluo Continent not only became a stumbling block on their path to the championship, but also their biggest rival in love, whom they had to trample underfoot in their struggle for the princess's favor.

Tang Wulin felt the countless gazes around him that seemed to pierce through him, and he smiled bitterly to himself.

He knew that from this moment on, his journey to the Star Luo Empire was destined to be anything but peaceful.

That spoiled princess Dai Yun'er really dug a huge pit for him. And those seemingly casual words from the Star Luo Emperor put him completely in a precarious position.

However, he still has to participate in the competition. According to the information he has received these days, the soul bone as a reward is said to be specially prepared for the number one person in Xingluo. It is rumored to be a sub-true dragon soul bone that is over 50,000 years old, which is perfectly suited to his Golden Dragon King bloodline. No matter what, he will not miss it.

and……

Tang Wulin turned his gaze to Gula and Bai Yuan. He was confident that he could break the fifth seal of the Golden Dragon King soon, which was an opportunity for him to defeat Gula.

He will not admit defeat prematurely, no matter what.

Tang Wulin's eyes were firm. As for Dai Yun'er, he believed that the Star Luo Emperor would stop her from acting impulsively.

The banquet ended in an eerie atmosphere, and everyone returned to the hotel.

Over the next few days, the Federation delegation had its own mission, so the Shrek Academy members stayed at the hotel to wait for the Youth Soul Master Competition to begin.

The Soul Master Tournament on the Star Luo Continent, influenced by Huo Yuhao from ten thousand years ago, is dominated by individual heroism, and the most attention is paid to individual competitions rather than the team competitions of Douluo Continent.

The registration requirement is that applicants be under 20 years old, with no other requirements. Applicants are allowed to use any means of killing that they can control, including but not limited to martial spirits, spirit bones, battle armor, mechs, and hidden weapons.

Therefore, the individual competition is far more exciting than Douluo Continent. The competition is held every three years, with a one-month registration period, and tickets for the competition are often sold out on the first day of registration.

The registration process was handled by the two senior members, while Wu Changkong was responsible for selecting the participants.

All the students from Shrek Academy who came this time signed up for the individual competition.

Meanwhile, in order to improve teamwork and tactics, and to secure more resources, they split into five pairs and signed up for the two-on-two competition.

As for the most important seven-person team competition for Shrek Academy, the main force consists of Bai Yuan, Tang Wulin, Wu Siduo, Xu Xiaoyan, Yuanen Yehui, Le Zhengyu, and Ye Xinglan, while Xu Lizhi, as a food-type soul master, serves as a substitute along with Xie Xie.

Gula and Guyue are disciples of the Spirit Pagoda, and together with Bai Yuan's strength, they are enough to lead the team to victory, so they did not register for the team competition.

The competition quickly commenced. The preliminary rounds of the individual competition adopted a completely random draw format, with dozens of sub-venues simultaneously taking place within Xingluo City's largest stadium, "Xingluo Grand Stadium," to select contestants with extremely high efficiency.

The Star Luo Empire did not tamper with this fundamental process. Even though Princess Dai Yun'er was of noble status, she did not have the ability to interfere with a fair lottery system in front of everyone.

The Shrek Academy students' opponents in the preliminary rounds mostly came from various Soul Master Academies and Sects in the Star Luo Empire, and their strengths varied greatly.

Gula's individual tournament number is 666. His first-round opponent is number 233, a nineteen-year-old Soul Master from the "Ze Mang Academy" in the southern part of the Star Luo Empire, named Basong.

Basong's martial soul is the "Nine-Pulse Serpent," a top-tier serpentine soul beast unique to the depths of the tropical rainforest of the Star Luo Continent, and is extremely rare.

It is not huge, but it has amazing flexibility and speed. Its scales are exceptionally slippery, allowing it to move and attack in unbelievable ways in complex environments. What is even more rare is that it is born with a trace of spatial attribute, which makes its movement trajectory unpredictable, slippery and extremely difficult to catch and lock onto.

Basong's soul power level is 54, and his soul ring configuration is two yellow and three purple, which is quite good among the preliminary contestants. His goal is to enter the top 16.

When he saw his opponent's number and name, a flicker of excitement and fighting spirit flashed in his eyes. Number 666? An unfamiliar name; looks like he's in luck.

Game start.

Without any probing, Basong instantly possessed his martial spirit.

His body seemed to have lost its bones, becoming unusually soft, with a layer of fine scales shimmering with a dark luster covering his skin, and his pupils turning into cold, vertical pupils.

With a slight shift in his footing, he moved like a real snake, skimming the ground at high speed in a zigzag pattern that defied the laws of physics. His trajectory was unpredictable, leaving behind afterimages and even creating subtle ripples in the air, similar to spatial distortion. This was the Nine-Pulse Serpent Martial Soul, and the core ability granted to him by the second soul spirit of the Nine-Pulse Serpent—"Shadow Wandering"!
His goal was clear: to use speed and unpredictable movement to get close to his opponent, and then launch a deadly strangulation with lightning speed!

However, when he was about ten meters away from Gula, an indescribable, terrifying heat, as if he were under the midday sun, suddenly descended, and the temperature of the entire arena soared.

Gula didn't move an inch; he simply stood calmly in place.

A faint yet incredibly solid halo of light spread silently from him, instantly covering an area with a diameter of 100 meters!

"Radiant Sun Domain!"

The fifth spirit ring bestowed upon Gula by the spirit of the Sun Angel.

Within this realm, the light became exceptionally blinding and pure, and the air distorted under the intense heat. The blazing flames burned Basong like leeches clinging to bones.

Basong's proud "Shadow Wanderer" was instantly suppressed. Its slippery scales seemed to be scorched by invisible flames, making each swipe difficult and sluggish.

The eerie trajectory brought about by that sparse spatial attribute, in the pure and domineering field of light and heat energy, was like an oil droplet thrown into boiling water, violently repelled and disturbed, becoming no longer smooth and natural, and even somewhat out of control.

Basong was shocked. What kind of soul skill was this? How could it have such a terrifying restraint on his martial soul's characteristics?! He felt as if he were sinking into a sticky, scorching golden swamp!

But he didn't give up. His first spirit ring lit up, "Poison Mist Spray!"

(End of this chapter)