The Legend of the Dragon King

“Battle of Five Gods? His Majesty is really… Wow!” Teng Teng looked at Dai Yueyan with an expression full of praise as he spoke.

In the Flourishing Pavilion, one of the high-end restaurants in Star Luo City, sat a group of people around a table inside a private room reserved for the emperor.

Seven of the former Monster Academy’s Eight Heavenly Kings were present. The only person absent was the Spirit King Dai Yun’er.

Long Yue sat at the main seat like a lofty mountain. He was silent.

Teng Teng who sat beside him spoke his mind.

The Wind King Lin San nodded and said, “His Majesty is far-sighted. According to the public news report, once the Tang Sect is engaged with the empire, it won’t be easy for them to pull out. I’m worried over how the Tang Sect will react to this. With the war breaking out anytime soon, the Tang Sect’s Sect Master’s visit to the Star Luo Empire will certainly be detrimental to the Tang Sect. Will the empire be blacklisted by the Tang Sect?”

Dai Yueyan replied, “They’ll certainly be disgruntled. However, they have no other choice currently. We haven’t exactly been noble in our actions lately. The Tang Sect came to help us, but we’ve put them in a spot. However, we’ve been compelled to do this. One of the weapons Tang Wulin brought is called a heavy ion beam. It can pierce through a mecha’s protective barrier to annihilate its interior but leaving the outer shell intact. Even a black mecha can’t stop such an attack. That weapon is truly terrifying.”

“It made us realize that the empire is currently way behind in soul technology as compared to the Federation. It’s impossible for us to catch up by relying on our own research institute. Initially, the Tang Sect’s requests seemed harsh. However, considering the Tang Sect didn’t increase the prices of these crucial weapons at this critical juncture, it’ll be prudent to accept their proposal. Father made up his mind after the Tang Sect showed us the deficiency of our soul technologies. The empire can only be on par with the Federation if the Tang Sect sides us.”

Hua Lantang looked at Dai Yueyan with a peculiar gaze, “Your Highness, I’m sure you realize we’re all members of the Tang Sect. You were once a member. Since you’ve told us the truth, we’ve no choice but to report it to our superiors.”

Dai Yueyan smiled revealing his white teeth. “It’s a done deal. We must own up to what we’ve done. Besides, the empire does not wish to have any conflict with the Tang Sect. The empire had no choice but to take this course of action. Moreover, it’s Tang Wulin’s own doing.”

Ye Zhi could not restrain herself from saying, “Just how much do you hate our Sect Master?”

Dai Yueyan snorted. “Hate him? I would love to kill him! He didn’t even take my father’s pride into consideration. He rejected our proposal for marriage in public. If he had agreed to the proposal, there would’ve been no need for all this. Yun’er is the most beloved princess of the royal family. The cumulative love received by all the princes was nothing compared to the love the princess alone received. Of all things, Tang Wulin had the gall to reject her which upset my father terribly. He shouldn’t blame us for going against him.”

“Tang Wulin is not a simple man.” Long Yue, who had been keeping silent, suddenly spoke up.

The others focused their gazes on Long Yue.

Even though each of them had different identities now, they were all high-ranking officials of the organizations they were affiliated with. Dai Yueyan was the crown prince, the future ruler of the Star Luo Empire. On the other hand, Long Yue was still the leader of the Eight Heavenly Kings. He remained as the Dragon King who had awed the entire nation.

When he spoke, the others quietened down naturally.

“Big brother, do you know him better?” Dai Yueyan asked Long Yue.

Long Yue nodded his head, “Although Tang Wulin is younger than all of us, he has a confidence that’s well beyond his age. If the empire plotted against him, I don’t think he’ll take it lying down. Also, we better not underestimate him. The Battle of Five Gods might not be a defeat for him. He has at least one attribute which I don’t have. He’s not afraid of failing. His tenacity can exceed even your wildest imagination. His natural talents are better than mine. We haven’t seen him for a few years now. I wonder just how powerful he is. Even our teacher can’t tell.”

“No way?” Shadow King Teng Teng said with incredulity, “Big brother, you’re telling me that he’s currently more powerful than you? But, you’re already a Title Douluo!”

Long Yue replied, “I’m not sure how much he has improved over the years. However, when I met him back then in Shrek Academy, he was already stronger than me. The overall progress of the Shrek Seven Monsters is greater than ours. If we ever face them again, I reckon that we’ll surely lose.”

The others fell silent. If anyone else had said the same, they would have retorted. Everyone kept quiet as it was Long Yue who made the comments.

Long Yue’s desire to win was the strongest among them. He never accepted defeat. He had stood at the pinnacle of the younger generation. He was a Title Douluo at the age of twenty-five. He possessed the Mountain Dragon King martial soul. It had been somewhat decided that he would be the next principal of the Monster Academy. He was already the Vice Hall Master of the empire’s Worship Hall. He had the highest potential in the entire continent to be a Limit Douluo in the near future.

For such a person to say that he might not be as strong as Tang Wulin meant that the power of Tang Wulin’s natural gifts were unimaginable.

“I don’t care if I win or lose, I really wish to fight them again,” Wind King Lin San said calmly.

The Wolf King Su Mu who was seated on the left nodded. “Yeah, I wish that too. Since they’re here, we shouldn’t let this opportunity go. Big brother, can we organize a seven against seven with them before the Battle of Five Gods?”

A bright radiance suddenly burst forth from Long Yue’s eyes. He turned to look at Dai Yueyan. “Your Highness, what do you think?”

Dai Yueyan clenched his fists in response. “I’ve wanted to beat that Tang Wulin brat for a long time. I really do. Fourth Brother, go tell the Smiley Face Douluo it’ll be a warm-up battle for the Tang Sect’s Sect Master. See if they agree. We can do this discreetly. We’ll have it in the Tang Sect’s gymnasium.”

Hua Lantang took a deep breath. “Alright, I’ll go ask His Excellency, the Smiley Face Douluo for his opinion. However, I’d like to remind everyone that the Sect Master had sparred with the Smiley Face Douluo on the first day of his arrival. Only the people who came with the Sect Master and the Tang Sect’s Title Douluos or above had the chance to observe the duel. We didn’t get to witness the match. However, we heard the comments of the Title Douluos who had watched the match. They remarked that they understood how Tang Wulin became the Sect Master. At the very least, we can be sure that he survived the fight with the Smiley Face Douluo.”

Teng Teng pouted. “What does that prove? Did the Smiley Face Douluo use his full force against him?”

Hua Lantang said, “I’m not sure about that, but we should all be careful. Tang Wulin and the Shrek Seven Monsters are no longer the same as they were before.”

Long Yue had a dry smile. “I’m not qualified to enter the Battle of Five Gods yet. This is our only chance. So what if we lose? If Tang Wulin can lose, we can lose as well. After all, don’t you guys have any faith in yourselves? Sure, they’ve been working hard the past few years. Aren’t we doing the same?”

His voice was firm and forceful. In this moment, the other six Heavenly Kings felt their blood boil.

All these years, had we not been working hard as well? We had also been constantly improving ourselves. Everyone had made substantial progress. Even the crown prince Dai Yueyan had not given up on his cultivation. They had lived routine lives day after day for a single purpose which was to redeem themselves when the opportunity arose.

Now, the opportunity had come. They could not let it slip no matter what.