As expected of a Limit Douluo; Blood One was immediately able to identify that something had changed within his body. Tang Wulin chuckled, "I did improve slightly, mostly in terms of bloodline power. I seem to have recently broken through a bottleneck, but after my breakthrough, it's become harder to control my own strength. I'm going back to cultivate now."
Blood One said, "The finals have commenced, right? Have you had your match yet?"
Tang Wulin replied, "I just finished my first match, and I won. The finals are quite interesting; everyone gets assigned a number, and my number is 33."
Blood One continued, "Don't forget your mission; I never go back on my word."
"Yes," Tang Wulin replied in a resigned manner.
Blood One looked on as Tang Wulin departed, and he decided to use his jurisdictive power to request a copy of Tang Wulin's competition footage. He couldn't shake the feeling that Tang Wulin had undergone a very significant transformation, one that went far beyond his expectations.
After departing from Blood One's room, Tang Wulin didn't return to his own room. Ever since his sparring match with Ma Shan, he had constantly been cultivating in his own room before participating in the competition, and he was really getting sick of staying indoors. Thus, he decided to go out for a walk and give Gu Yuena a call.
During the match that had just taken place, he had received some inspiration about the mecha that he wanted to construct for himself. His situation was different from everyone else's, so his mecha naturally had to be different as well.
After getting onto the elevator and leaving the Blood God Battalion, Tang Wulin hesitated momentarily before removing the epaulets from his shoulders.
He was so young, so it was far too eye-catching for him to be wearing major general epaulets. Ma Shan had been a little reckless and violent the other day, but in reality, anyone else would've also doubted his identity. Unless a public announcement was made to the entire legion informing everyone of his new military rank, the only way that he could avoid unnecessary trouble was to remove his epaulets.
Sure enough, with his epaulets removed, he was spared a lot of trouble. He still received the occasional glance as not wearing one's epaulets was technically also a breach of the rules of the Blood God Legion, but that was only a minor breach, and it didn't really matter seeing as he was in the resting area.
The resting area was always a lively and bustling place. After all, this was the only place where members of the Blood God Legion could go to relax and have fun.
Tang Wulin went to the bar area to order himself a drink before taking a seat and going for a sip. The sweet and refreshing drink flowed down his throat, instantly bringing him a sense of happiness.
He used his Blood God Bracelet to call Gu Yuena's number and waited for her to pick up. After just a short while, Gu Yuena's voice rang out.
Her voice was gentle and mellow, and it was filled with elation as she said, "I really miss you, Father; when are you coming back?"
As soon as he heard her voice, Tang Wulin instantly felt as if all of his exhaustion and psychological tension had disappeared. "I'll go the day after tomorrow, is that alright?"
"Yes! That would be great!" Gu Yuena squealed with excitement, "I'll be waiting for you."
"Alright." Tang Wulin smiled as he told Gu Yuena about some of the interesting things that had happened to him in the legion, including how he had "accidentally" defeated Blood Nine, as well as his altercation with Ma Shan over his military rank. He gave her a recount of everything so she could share in the joy that he was experiencing in the legion.
Gu Yuena listened with rapt focus and occasionally extended a few words of concern, making Tang Wulin feel very warm on the inside, and before he knew it, a warm and gentle smile had appeared on his face.
All of a sudden, he felt an aura approaching him from behind, and he reflexively turned around before reaching out with a grab.
"Hehe, ow!" A burst of chuckling had only just rung out before it instantly cut off and transformed into a howl of anguish.
A burly figure was grabbed by Tang Wulin and pressed down onto the table before him.
"What happened, Father?" Gu Yuena exclaimed on the other side of the line.
Tang Wulin hurriedly said, "It's alright, it's just a comrade of mine playing a prank on me."
He released Jiang Wuyue as he spoke before giving him a warning glare.
"Oh, that's good to hear. You have to come as early as possible, Father; I'll be waiting for you."
"Alright." Tang Wulin ended the call before turning to Jiang Wuyue, who was rubbing his wrist with a peculiar look on his face.
"What're you looking at?" Tang Wulin snapped.
Jiang Wuyue raised an eyebrow in response. "How do you have a daughter already at your age? From the sound of her voice, she's not just an infant, either! What age did you first begin doing the deed?"
"Shut up!" Tang Wulin snapped, "That was my girlfriend."
Jiang Wuyue faltered slightly before the peculiar look on his face became even more pronounced. "My my, Tang Wulin, to think that a bright and handsome young man like you would have such a dark and twisted interior; I didn't think you'd be into this type of stuff! You're the perfect example of a pretty boy with a rotten interior!"
A cold light flashed through Tang Wulin's eyes. "Are you asking for a beating?"
Jiang Wuyue chuckled, "Hurry up and teach me how you did it! How did you manage to get your girlfriend to call you father? Do you have some kind of secret formula?"
Tang Wulin glowered at him. "She's suffering from amnesia, so she only has her memories as a small child."
"Er..." Jiang Wuyue appraised Tang Wulin with a surprised expression, and asked, "Amnesia? How did that happen?"
A pained look flashed through Tang Wulin's eyes. "She lost her memories while saving my life."
Jiang Wuyue's expression immediately changed upon hearing this, and he wore a guilty and apologetic look on his face as he said, "I'm sorry, I didn't know..."
Tang Wulin shook his head. "Perhaps this is a good thing. Truth be told, even I don't know whether I want her to recover or not. I want her to recover her memories so that she can be complete again, but the current situation is quite good as well; at the very least, she can always be by my side."
Jiang Wuyue's expression changed slightly upon hearing this. "By your side? You didn't bring her with you, did you? Now I get why you're so eager to get promoted; you want to be able to take leave so you can go and visit her, right?"
There was nothing for him to hide, so Tang Wulin nodded in response. "She's staying at the Scorching Basin, and I've already visited her once. I'm planning to go again the day after tomorrow."
A thought suddenly occurred to Jiang Wuyue, and he said, "By the way, I heard from Yuxue that, that you're a major general now?"
He glanced at Tang Wulin's shoulders as he spoke, but there were no epaulets for him to see.
Tang Wulin nodded in response. "That's right! I'm looking forward to hearing you call me superior."
Jiang Wuyue's throat immediately ran dry. It had only been a few months since he'd come to the legion! In the beginning, this guy had been referring to him as superior, but now, the roles were already reversed.
"Th, that's way too fast! What the hell did you do to get promoted so quickly?"
Tang Wulin replied, "Didn't Yuxue tell you? I defeated Blood Nine, so I'm Blood Nine of the Blood God Battalion now, and all of the Blood Gods are at the major general rank or above."
"Y, you defeated Blood Nine?" Jiang Wuyue stared at him in a flabbergasted manner as he exclaimed, "You already have the power to defeat Blood Nine, yet you still went out of your way to challenge me? What kind of inhumane bastard are you!"
Tang Wulin rolled his eyes. "Is there something wrong with your reflex arc? Shouldn't you be praising me for my powers?"
"Praise my arse! I only recall you beating the crap out of me!" Jiang Wuyue grumbled with an enraged look on his face.
Tang Wulin's expression changed slightly, a benevolent smile suddenly appeared on his face. "How about this, Wuyue? It was indeed wrong for me to take advantage of you on that day, so I'll give you an opportunity to exact your revenge. Let's go to the Star Battle Net, and as long as you pay for the combat room rental fee, I'll let you beat me to your heart's content. I won't dodge, defend, or retaliate, how about that? You only have to give me 1,000 federal credits per minute, and I'll let you beat me up as much as you like."
Jiang Wuyue appraised Tang Wulin with a skeptical expression. "Really? Are you really that much of a good guy?"
Federal credits didn't really matter much to him. There was no use for money in the Blood God Legion, and they received a very high monthly salary, so he had a lot of federal credits that were sitting around for no purpose.
Tang Wulin sighed with a disdainful look on his face, "I didn't think that you wouldn't even dare to beat me up. How did you become the commander of the melee combat battalion like this? Is this the iron will of your Iron Will Corps? I should go and ask Brother Ma Shan about this."