"Are you talking about the Heavenly Phoenix Douluo and Dark Phoenix Douluo?" Hu Jie asked.

"That's right. They're both extremely proud women and were known as exceptional talents in our generation. If their admirers were to line up, the line would stretch all the way from Shrek Academy to the Spirit Pagoda. However, they both fell in love with Yun Ming, and that's when the tragedy began. The Heavenly Phoenix Douluo became the vice-chairman of the Spirit Pagoda in the end, while the Dark Phoenix Douluo became one of the four heavenly monarchs of the Holy Spirit Cult. Following the Shrek Academy bombing, she even went as far as to abduct Yun Ming's soul."

Hu Jie's brows furrowed tightly upon hearing this. "How troublesome. This is why I've remained single all this time; I have no such concerns!"

The Amorous Douluo chuckled, "Old Man Hu, if you don't lose some weight, you'll most likely be single for life."

"You should shut up and eat more!"

...... 

Tang Wulin returned to his room and sat on his bed with a bright gleam in his eyes.

The Trial of Five Gods! All of the opponents that he was going to face were definitely at the pinnacle of the five respective disciplines. He had been improving far too quickly these past days; he had broken his 12th Golden Dragon King seal, manifested a spiritual domain, and become an eight-ring Soul Douluo.

Any single one of these breakthroughs would be extremely remarkable already, yet he had completed all of them in just a few months.

It was undoubtedly the case that he was far more powerful than before, but at the same time, his foundation had become slightly shaky, and he was still yet to truly incorporate all of his powers into a cohesive package.

After cultivating the Body Sect's congenital secret method, he was able to reflect on the improvements that he had made through refining his own body, and this had helped him integrate all of his powers, but if things were to continue at this rate, it would take a long time for him to complete this process.

The battle against the Smiling Douluo had benefited him immensely. In particular, he had developed a far better grasp over his Time Reversal domain and Millennium White Clouds. However, that was still just a sparring match, after all, and he needed a true battle of life and death to force him to fully tap into his latent potential.

Of course, Tang Wulin had no confidence at all in the upcoming Trial of Five Gods, but this was going to be an extremely important and positive experience for him. On top of that, the Tang Sect had already decided that their bottom line was actually far lower than the Star Luo Empire had imagined, so he definitely couldn't pass up this opportunity.

After making the decision to participate in the Trial of Five Gods, Tang Wulin had constantly been in a state of extreme excitement, and this was something that he hadn't felt for a very long time.

The current five challenges were definitely different from those of ancient times, and the disciplines involved were mechas, battle armor, soul skills, weapons, and soul spirits.

It was undoubtedly the case that the pinnacle of the five challenges was going to be the battle armor master battle, but that didn't mean that the other four battles were going to be any less challenging. The Star Luo Empire definitely had rules surrounding the trial, so he had to ascertain those rules before devising a strategy.

With that in mind, Tang Wulin contacted the Smiling Douluo.

"Hall Master Hu, please request from the Star Luo Empire the exact times when the five challenges are going to be held, as well as a detailed set of rules for all of the challenges, so I can make preparations accordingly. Also, I have a request that I would like you to pass on to the imperial family."

"Go on, Sect Master." Hu Jie was starting to become quite excited as he listened to Tang Wulin's calm voice. He had once been a hot-blooded young man as well, and he was also very much looking forward to this Trial of Five Gods, which hadn't taken place in the Star Luo for over 10,000 years.

"My condition is that regardless of whether I win or lose the challenges, I want all five challenges to go ahead," Tang Wulin said.

This trial was going to be very important for refining his body and mind, so he didn't want to miss out on the rest of the challenges if he were to lose the first one. Furthermore, this condition certainly wasn't out of line, and the Star Luo Empire was essentially obliged to comply as the Trial of Five Gods they had proposed was extremely unfair to begin with.

"Alright, I'll pass on your request; there shouldn't be any problems with getting this condition granted."

After ending the call, Tang Wulin immediately began to meditate on his bed. He had to take advantage of every single second that was available to him. Even if he could only make a tiny improvement, it would help him immensely during the upcoming Trial of Five Gods.

...... 

"What? Trial of Five Gods? How could this be?" Dai Yun'er was sobbing into her pillow, but her sobs immediately cut off as she sat bolt upright before turning to Dai Yueyan. Wasn't the Trial of Five Gods something that only existed in legends? How could there possibly be a single person who could defeat an entire empire's most powerful beings in five major disciplines?

"The Trial of Five Gods was something that Father had already decided in advance, except there was originally supposed to be an age restriction imposed on our empire's representatives. However, he rejected you today, which made Father very angry, and he decided to do away with that restriction." 

At this point, Dai Yueyan's fury had already abated slightly, and he was more so disappointed by how things had played out. If the age restriction had been imposed, perhaps he would've had the chance to compete in one of the five trials. As things stood now, that was clearly impossible.

"How could Father do this? This is clearly unfair, and it's going to tarnish the image of our empire as well! How are our people going to see us? We're a mighty empire, yet we're targeting such a young sect master in such an underhanded way; even if we win, there's no glory to be had!" Dai Yun'er yelled.

Dai Yueyan was rooted to the spot upon hearing this. "Father is only doing this for you! Which side are you on? Have you forgotten that he just rejected you? Wake up, Yun'er; he's not your husband!"

"I'm just saying this from the perspective of a neutral bystander!" Dai Yun'er countered in an unconvincing manner as a deep blush appeared on her face.

Dai Yueyan shook his head with a wry smile. "In any case, it's too late to change anything now. Father has already issued the challenge, and Tang Wulin accepted. I have no idea what he's thinking; he knows he's going to lose, so why insist on making a fool out of himself? Having said that, it would be unwise for us to sour our relationship with the Tang Sect over something like this, so our imperial family has already decided not to announce results of the challenges to the public."

Dai Yun'er's breathing was slightly heavy, but there was a contemplative look in her eyes. She suddenly asked, "Brother, do you think there's a chance Tang Wulin could win a challenge or two?"

Dai Yueyan raised an eyebrow in response. "Do you really want him to win?"

Dai Yun'er bit down on her lower lip, and said in a quiet voice, "I already know he loves someone else, and this isn't the first time he's rejected me. I was just thinking that if he could win one or two of the five challenges, then that would indicate that he is indeed one of the brightest young talents across all three continents. In that case, do you think Father would agree for me to become his concubine."

"What did you just say?" Dai Yueyan stared at Dai Yun'er in a stunned manner. Never did he think that he would hear her say something like this.

"I think you've gone mad!" A furious voice rang out from outside, and Dai Tianling strode in like an enraged tiger.

Dai Yueyan extended a respectful greeting toward his father before stepping away to the side like a frightened rabbit.

Dai Tianling glowered at Dai Yun'er, and roared, "Do you not have any self-respect? How can a princess like you consider becoming someone's concubine? Setting that aside, monogamy is mandated by law in both our empire and in the Douluo Federation; becoming a concubine doesn't even work from a practical perspective!"

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