Su Ming was getting a real look at the importance of connections.
Tang Wulin's disappearance would, without a doubt, cause the most anxiety for Shrek Academy.
Then there was the Tang Sect.
To investigate the details, they would definitely question everyone else who had entered the Dragon Valley, analyzing what had actually happened at the time.
Among them, Su Ming was unquestionably the highest-level individual.
But how to ask him became an art form.
After all, Su Ming himself had no prior interaction with the Tang Sect.
After leaving the Dragon Valley, he had also cut contact with the Shrek group.
So, they could only find their way to him through the roundabout method of contacting Mu Ye.
"I never entered the Dragon Tomb. I was just skirting the edge, consuming the Dragon Clouds, when the accident happened. Then I used the Elemental Storm that appeared in the sky to temper my body."
Su Ming told the truth.
Everything he said was factual.
He genuinely hadn't seen Tang Wulin.
Of course, Mu Ye was only asking about Tang Wulin, not about Gu Yue or the others, so Su Ming didn't volunteer that information.
"Hmm, you were the last one out. Had the space inside collapsed?"
"No, it was very stable."
Su Ming gave an answer that took Mu Ye by surprise.
"Very stable?"
He was stunned.
Usually, the appearance of a crack in a pocket dimension was a precursor to its collapse.
To be honest, after the Tang Sect learned about the massive crack inside, they were prepared to abandon the Dragon Valley.
"Very stable. It's just that the external space was chaotic. If I hadn't come out then, I'd probably be trapped inside for at least three years."
Mu Ye understood.
"It seems Tang Wulin might still be alive, but he'll be trapped in the Dragon Valley for three years."
Having gotten his answer, he went to inform Zhen Hua.
Zhen Hua, in turn, told his junior brother, Mu Chen.
Learning that Tang Wulin was safe, Mu Chen also breathed a sigh of relief.
For the two major organizations, Tang Wulin's life or death was actually a small matter, merely the loss of a genius.
But on a personal level, it held great significance.
Mu Chen was probably the one most concerned about Tang Wulin's survival.
Next was Wu Kong.
After that, came Tang Wulin's companions.
As for the other teachers at Shrek and the higher-ups of the Tang Sect, they were even further down the list.
"As for the 'Thousand-Day Dragon Burial' and all that stuff related to the Dragon God, I won't get involved for now. My main target right now is to fish... err, to experience all kinds of futures."
Having spent three months in the Dragon Valley, using the Dragon Clouds to boost his affinity, Su Ming's Spirit Souls hadn't been idle either; all their abilities under development were progressing.
"After completing the faith deployment on the Star Luo Continent, it should be about time to start traveling the Long River."
"Oh, right, I also need to make a trip to see Lin Yuhan."
[Douluo 2]
Shrek City.
Three months ago, with the sudden appearance of the Auspicious Beast, the Shrek group's half-year-long Spirit Hunting mission had finally concluded.
The students participating in this operation all breathed a sigh of relief.
Elder Xuan's exceptionally cautious leadership had made them feel very safe, but the painfully slow progress of the hunt had been a real ordeal for them.
The more steady and reliable Elder Xuan acted, the more uneasy they felt inside.
Therefore, the successful completion of the Spirit Hunting mission was a relief to all of them.
After the Attribute Connection with the Auspicious Beast was completed, Huo Yuhao was teleported away from the team the very next day.
After that, it took the hunting team three full months to finally leave the Star Dou Great Forest, and they looked for all the world like they had just narrowly escaped death.
"Fortunately, I was cautious this time, otherwise you would all have been finished."
Xuan Zi looked at the seventeen students, all safe and sound, and a sense of accomplishment welled up inside him.
This was more like it!
This was more in line with the bearing of a powerhouse like me, Xuan Zi, at the ninety-eighth rank.
Not a single student under my command was hurt.
Even when pursued by three of the Ten Great Fierce Beasts, I still held my ground.
It was nothing short of a miracle.
Looking at Shrek City before him, Xuan Zi felt an inexplicable surge of pride.
I, Xuan Zi, have truly changed!
He desperately wanted to stand in the Sea God Pavilion, before all the other Pavilion Elders, and tell them about the incredible miracle he had achieved this time.
Captured the Auspicious Beast alive, performed an Attribute Connection, withstood three Fierce Beasts, and evacuated everyone!
A flawless clear!
And a very profitable withdrawal at that!
The students who had followed Xuan Zi all wore expressions of someone who had just survived a catastrophe.
Xuan Zi, brimming with pride and confidence, returned to the Shrek Inner Court, only to find the atmosphere there was not good. When he entered the Sea God Pavilion and saw the other Pavilion Elders, his heart sank with a thud.
"What's happened?"
Yan Shaozhe closed his eyes in pain.
The other Pavilion Elders also remained silent.
"Say something!" Xuan Zi grew anxious.
"What's the meaning of this silence?"
I return with tremendously good news, only to find the entire academy as if some calamity has struck, and you're all being cryptic with me?
"Xuan Zi, who did you offend in the Star Dou Great Forest?"
Finally, Elder Zhuang spoke.
Offend who?
Who did I offend?
Xuan Zi shot to his feet.
"I've been away from the academy for over half a year. How can whatever happened at the academy be pinned on me?"
"Di Tian made a move. Although it was just a palm strike from a distance, it was still a threat. He demands that you take Huo Yuhao to the Core Ferocious Region to apologize."
With Elder Zhuang's words, all of Xuan Zi's confidence instantly drained away.
Di Tian made a move?
Huo Yuhao?
Xuan Zi?
It seemed, perhaps, it really might be related to him.
"Did Di Tian say anything else?"
"No, that's why we are even more puzzled." Yan Shaozhe asked, "Elder Xuan, what exactly did you do?"
"I... I just led the team on a Spirit Hunt, seeking benefits for the students! And I brought everyone back to the academy safe and sound."
"The entire team returned?"
Yan Shaozhe was astonished.
For a moment, he forgot to ask where Xuan Zi had provoked Di Tian.
But the forgetfulness was brief. Coming back to the point, he still had to ask.
"Where did you offend Di Tian? And, what's this about Huo Yuhao? Wasn't he in the Sun Moon Empire?"
Xuan Zi took a deep breath and explained everything clearly: how Huo Yuhao was mysteriously teleported to their team, how they conducted the Spirit Hunt, how they encountered the Auspicious Beast, and completed the Attribute Connection.
Elder Zhuang and the others fell silent.
In this matter, Xuan Zi had acted impulsively.
But, they couldn't entirely blame Xuan Zi.
With such an opportunity before them, anyone would have fought for it.
So whose fault was it?
The fault lay with Shrek Academy's decline, no longer able to act as recklessly as it did in the past.
All the Pavilion Elders remained silent.
But, the problem still had to be solved.
How to appease Di Tian's wrath?
"Did Huo Yuhao return with you?"
"No, Yuhao disappeared again. He probably returned to that Valley of the Endless Love."
Valley of the Endless Love.
Huo Yuhao opened his eyes.
He looked at the lake before him, where sun and moon seemed inverted, and a similar scene was simulated within his Sea of Consciousness.
At this moment, the words he heard upon returning to the Valley of the Endless Love still echoed in his mind.
"A bond of love has been formed. Within three years, return here with your beloved to undergo the trial. Otherwise, face death!"
After that voice faded, he had reappeared in the external valley.
At that time, the changes in the valley entered his sight, and a strange power enveloped him, allowing him to deeply sense the unique concept behind the valley's operation.
Two months of deep meditation had yielded great, yet also very small, gains.
Great because he felt significant insights; small because he didn't know what use these gains were.
And also... coming back here with a beloved within three years...
Huo Yuhao's face twisted into a look of extreme consternation.
What bond of love?
I have no idea.
***
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(Chapter End)