However, Tang Wulin merely remained on the spot and displayed no intention to evade as he raised his arms above his head. Both of his arms instantly expanded slightly, and dragon scale patterns appeared all over his suit of battle armor as his golden dragon claws emerged.
The two hammer projections were about to strike him, and Tang Wulin reached out with both hands, grabbing onto the projections in a completely fearless manner.
Dazzling golden light suddenly erupted from the pair of golden dragon claws, and a burst of golden mist proliferated from Tang Wulin's body. In the next instant, the two hammer projections were destroyed by his pair of claws, resulting in an immense burst of backlash that surged through his arms, but his body didn't even sway in the slightest.
Yuanen Yehui's pair of giant hammers then appeared above his head like lightning. Tang Wulin's eyes immediately began to glow, and he still didn't take any evasive measures. Instead, he clenched his golden dragon claws into fists and let loose a loud cry before lashing out with both fists at once to oppose the pair of massive hammers.
One had to realize the pair of hammers weighed in excess of half a ton! Among the current Shrek’s Seven Monsters, Yuanen Yehui and Tang Wulin were the only ones capable of wielding those two hammers. Furthermore, the enormous power of the Titan Giant Ape had been thrown behind these hammers, and if a yellow mecha were to be standing in Tang Wulin's place without its soul barriers activated, it would be instantly pulverized. However, Tang Wulin was using nothing more than his bare fists to combat the pair of hammers.
Even Yuanen Yehui found this to be quite incredible. She was 100% confident that no one of the same cultivation rank as her would be able to withstand these hammer blows with their body alone. As such, she reflexively held back a little in her attack. The only reason why she hadn't completely bailed out was because she had absolute trust in Tang Wulin.
"Boom!" The hammers and fists clashed amid a resounding commotion. A powerful burst of shockwaves instantly erupted with the two of them at its very center.
In that instant, everyone was struck by the feeling that Tang Wulin seemed to have become an immovable mountain. He wasn't using any soul skills or blood essence soul ring skills, but brilliant golden light was emanating from his entire body, as well as his suit of one-word battle armor.
The protective barrier beneath Tang Wulin's feet also rippled violently in the face of this astounding impact.
He blocked it?
Everyone's eyes widened as they looked on in astonishment and concern. They were all well aware of just how powerful Yuanen Yehui was. In Tang Wulin's absence, she was the entire team's number one Assault System Battle Soul Master, as well as an integral member of the team.
However, they were then greeted by an incredible sight.
Yuanen Yehui's twin hammers were flung back by Tang Wulin's fists, immediately following which she began to stumble back uncontrollably from the momentum. After stumbling back over 10 steps, she was still unable to arrest her momentum and sat onto the ground while her hammers also crashed down onto the ground amid resounding booms.
Yuanen Yehui's arms hung limply by her sides, and her eyes were filled with incredulity as she looked on from beneath her visor.
She had indeed held back at the last moment, but she definitely hadn't held back by much!
However, when her hammers struck Tang Wulin's fists, she felt as if she were facing a ferocious beast rather than a human being, and a terrifying burst of recoil surged toward her like a torrential flood. Furthermore, she clearly noticed that Tang Wulin had withdrawn his fists mid-way, which meant that he hadn't used his full power either.
Following the clash, Tang Wulin simply stood motionlessly on the spot without pressing his advantage. Everyone else was looking on with flabbergasted expressions.
Xie Xie was already rushing toward Yuanen Yehui, and even the perpetually calm Ye Xinglan had her mouth gaped wide open.
Tang Wulin also quickly made his way over to Yuanen Yehui. "Are you alright?"
Having already dropped her hammers, Yuanen Yehui wore a wry smile on her face as she said, "It's alright, my arms have only been dislocated, If I hadn't been wearing my battle armor..."
"Dislocated? How could you, Boss? You're a heartless tyrant!" Xie Xie punched Tang Wulin's suit of battle armor a few times in an enraged and indignant manner.
An apologetic look appeared on Tang Wulin's face. "I'm sorry! I didn't know this was going to happen. When I discovered that your attacks weren't all that powerful, I quickly tried to hold back, but it was already too late."
Deathly silence ensued.
Weren't all that powerful...
Weren't all that powerful?
Weren't all that powerful?!
Good heavens! This was a Titan Giant Ape wielding a pair of giant hammers that weighed in excess of half a ton, AND Yuanen Yehui had unleashed her Air Cannon attack.
No one would even dare to consider taking such a fearsome attack head-on, yet his feedback was that it wasn't all that powerful...
Yuanen Yehui was also staring at Tang Wulin in a flabbergasted manner. "Tell me the truth; how much of your strength did you unleash just then?"
Tang Wulin considered the question for a moment before replying, "Around 50% to 60%."
Yuanen Yehui was completely speechless. Her body shrank down to its normal size and form, and Xie Xie pressed her arms back into their sockets.
She looked up at Tang Wulin with a serious expression, and suggested, "I think you should go test your strength. From a pure strength perspective, even that Long Yue may be no match for you. How did you get so freakishly strong?"
A wry smile appeared on Tang Wulin's face. "It's probably because I absorbed some special energy to nourish my body during the past three years. I'm sure you're all curious about where I disappeared off to during this time; the truth is..."
Thus, he gave everyone a recount of what had happened in the Dragon Valley.
"You buried true dragon skeletons for three years straight? You win, Boss! No one's beating that!" Xie Xie stared at Tang Wulin in an incredulous manner.
Tang Wulin smiled in response. "I just wanted to be able to leave with a clear conscience. You all know that my martial soul is Bluesilver Grass. If I didn't have my Golden Dragon King bloodline, I would be nothing no matter how hard I worked, so I'm very grateful for everything my bloodline has given me. After entering the Dragon Valley, I also absorbed so much dragon energy. The dragon clan has done way too much for me; how could I just leave their skeletons out in the open? I just didn't think that it would take so long. Digging holes and transporting dragon bones both require a lot of effort. In particular, the task is made even more difficult because I have to rearrange the bones in their original configurations.
"Dragon bones are a lot heavier than you can imagine, and it's very likely they contain the quintessential power of these dragons. After doing constant manual labor and absorbing dragon spirits every day, my strength naturally increased. I sensed that this was happening, but I didn't know my strength had increased by so much. It seems like my control over my newfound strength isn't too bad, though, considering it hadn't affected my forging."
Xu Xiaoyan said, "Looks like it's not necessarily a bad thing that your soul power stagnated, Boss. Your body has become even more fearsome than before! Even Yuanen isn't a match for you in terms of pure strength; you can probably compete with most Titled Doulos!"
Tang Wulin chuckled, "That wouldn't be possible; Titled Douluos would be able to easily crush me with their soul power. However, I also think I should go and test my strength so I can control it better. If I don't wear my battle armor, I shouldn't be as powerful. Yuanen, next time, we can try this again, but I won't wear my battle armor."
Tang Wulin's strength had undoubtedly stunned everyone. It felt as if he could lift the entire heavens if he wanted to! Such freakish strength didn't even seem attainable for a human being.
The inner court had the most cutting-edge testing facilities, and inner court disciples had to test their bodily parameters here once every three months, and this included their soul power rank, strength, speed, spiritual power, reflexes, etc. The tests were quite exhaustive, and it helped students determine how they should train and cultivate in the future.
When Tang Wulin and his friends arrived at the testing facilities, there was already someone there waiting for them.