Chapter 72: Old Tang, You and I Together—Let's Beat the Sea God Tang San!
Almost everyone had fallen on the twentieth floor. Even Huo Yun'er, already at level twenty-eight, couldn't get past the Great Soul Master–stage Tang San.
It wasn't her strength that failed her—it was that pesky Purple Demon Eye, which completely countered her first soul skill.
The others didn't fare any better. None of them managed to claim the twentieth-floor reward.
"This can't be right! Don't tell me the Spirit Pagoda secretly strengthened the bosses? Otherwise, how could they be this strong?"
Xie Xie stormed out, red-faced with frustration. His opponent had been Ghost Shadow Douluo Zhu Zhuqing, another speed-type like himself.
He was already level twenty-six, possessed twin martial souls, and yet… he lost?!
"Impossible!"
After tens of thousands of years, soul masters should have progressed!
With the invention of the Spirit Ascension Platform and the advent of spirit souls, today's cultivation methods far surpassed the ancient ones—and let's not even mention the future with soul armor!
At equal levels, there was no reason the old generation should outmatch the present!
Wu Zhangkong's cold voice cut through the chatter.
"Stop making excuses for your own failures. You were too weak, plain and simple. Have you trained seriously? Or have you been slacking off? Whenever you lose, you blame something else!"
"Do you plan to stay stuck at Titled Douluo forever? Don't you want to reach godhood? A soul master who doesn't aim to become a god isn't worthy of the title!"
"If you think mediocrity's acceptable, then go home and start farming!"
Xie Xie immediately shut up—though his expression still screamed defiance. Deep down, he still believed something was wrong. The Spirit Pagoda must have secretly buffed those opponents.
Of course, Wu Zhangkong knew he was probably right. The difficulty had been increased. The Pagoda wouldn't hand out rare rewards too easily.
He'd fought the old Tang Sect simulation before—it wasn't this brutal.
But as a teacher, he couldn't admit that. Sometimes, a little motivational pressure was necessary.
"Wait… where's Tang Wulin?"
Xie Xie frowned. Everyone else had exited the simulation, but Wulin was still missing.
Among their group, the strongest was debatable—Jiang Chen, the Snow Empress, and Gu Yue had yet to go all-out. But the weakest? Everyone agreed it was Tang Wulin.
A mediocre martial soul, low soul power—his only talents lay in his bloodline and forging skills.
So why wasn't he out yet?
Xie Xie's eyes widened. "Don't tell me… he actually cleared floor twenty?!"
Wu Zhangkong frowned. That sounded absurd. But curiosity got the better of him. He tapped his communicator, connecting directly to Tang Wulin's pod.
Inside the simulation, Tang Wulin fought under Old Tang's direct command. Every move read his opponent perfectly, every strike hit with flawless timing.
Still, with Tang San's Ghost Shadow Perplexing Step and Mysterious Jade Hands, the Sea God easily held the advantage in speed and precision.
Then Wu Zhangkong's voice suddenly sounded in his ear:
"Wulin, are you still on floor twenty? If you think you can win, enable spectator mode. If you do, whether you succeed or not, you'll still get the floor's reward."
Floor twenty's prize? The right to choose a thousand-year spiritual item.
Wulin's heart skipped.
His second Golden Dragon King seal required four ten-thousand-year treasures: the Thousand-Year Dragon Scale Fruit, Thousand-Year Green Vein Vine, Thousand-Year Earth Dragon Tendon, and Thousand-Year Sea Dragon Essence.
But the third Golden Dragon seal would need far rarer materials: a three-ring cultivation base, immense spiritual strength, and draconic treasures to suppress the violent will of the Dragon King's soul fragment.
Compared to that, the second seal's demands were nothing.
He needed all the resources he could get. That extra reward was too tempting.
Besides, under Old Tang's guidance, steamrolling a holographic Tang San wasn't exactly shameful. From the outside, it'd just look like effort and hard work.
So he approved the request.
Old Tang's expression grew extremely complicated.
"Hey, Old Tang," Tang Wulin said cheerfully, "don't zone out! Tell me what to do next! Even if he's Sea God Tang San, we'll beat him together—you and me!"
Tang San: "…"
Outside, a large blue hologram flickered to life, showing the live broadcast of Tang Wulin's battle.
The students gasped—the virtual arena shimmered as countless darts, needles, and hidden weapons streaked through the air.
Every move from Tang San was ruthless, calculated, lethal.
Even Wu Zhangkong frowned. "This portrayal… the Spirit Pagoda really did our Sea God dirty."
Sure, Tang San had mastered the Tang Sect's secret arts, but not like this! They'd clearly nerfed and twisted his legacy.
Spirit Pagoda, you little haters.
Still, the match was spectacular. Each of Tang San's attacks was countered by Wulin's golden vines, forming an intricate defense. The audience held their breath.
Even Wu Zhangkong had to admit—his weakest student was holding his own against history's strongest hero.
Xie Xie stared, jaw slack.
"No way. He's cheating, right?!"
Sure, he was Wulin's friend—but still, this was unreal. Against that many hidden weapons, Wulin looked completely unbothered.
He had to be using some kind of trick!
"Maybe Tang San's just too weak this time?" he muttered hopefully.
The others glared at him immediately.
"Why don't you try," Xu Xiaoyan shot back. "Let's see how long you'd last against this Tang San."
Xie Xie promptly shut up. The guy's movement speed alone could leave even him—a speed-type soul master—in the dust. Blocking his hidden weapons? Not a chance.
Still, he couldn't accept it. The whole thing felt wrong!
Jiang Chen, meanwhile, watched intently, expression unreadable.
It was obvious to him that Tang Wulin was succeeding only because of the Tang God King's coaching.
And that realization amused Jiang Chen greatly.
Father and son bonding, huh? What a charming prelude to filial tragedy.
Perhaps he could make this a regular training exercise. Watching the Tang family metaphorically beat itself up was far too entertaining.
Quietly, he flipped on the recording function. Every frame was a masterpiece of irony.
"Ancestor, aren't you going to challenge the tower?"
Huo Yun'er suddenly squeezed in beside him, displacing Gu Yue, and clung to his arm with a sweet smile. "You're the strongest, Ancestor! You could clear it for sure!"
Jiang Chen chuckled, patting her head. "I'm not interested."
After all, this whole tower had been his idea in the first place—a calmer alternative to the Tang Sect's chaotic simulation system.
The kindly lantern-bearing old man at the tower's entrance? His creation. Very... Rock Kingdom style, if he said so himself.
And considering the tower was now under the jurisdiction of the Yao Ling, he had good reason to stay out. One wrong step and he'd end up being "tested" in a way he didn't appreciate.
"Next time," he promised lazily.
But before he could blink, a black vortex of spatial energy formed right behind him—and sucked him in.
Jiang Chen: "...Seriously?"
"Yao Ling! No honor, no fairness! We agreed—next time!"
(END CHAPTER)
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