Chapter 558 - Another Encounter with Lin Yuhan
The Star Luo delegation easily numbered over a thousand people, all of which were elites in their various professions. The Federation’s delegation nearly matched them in number, so despite how large the hotel lobby was, it was bursting to the brim with people.
The Shrek Academy group waited silently in the corner as the official in charge of the Douluo delegation came to pay his respects to Elder Cai. She maintained her cold demeanor, telling him in as few words as possible that the Shrek Academy group was ready to set off.
As Tang Wulin quietly observed the Star Luo delegation, he was surprised to find no obvious differences between the people from his continent and theirs. Apart from the Star Luo delegation’s more traditional attire, of course, but even that wasn’t terribly conservative either. And it went without saying that both sides did not lack powerful people.
Tang Wulin’s eyes lit up when he saw a familiar figure, and as if feeling his gaze, that person turned to look back at him. It was Lin Yuhan. She stared blankly at him for a moment before her eyes widened in surprise and she waved to him. He flashed a smile and acknowledged her with a nod.
From the corner of his eye, Tang Wulin saw Yue Zhengyu smirk and puff out his chest. “Look, that girl just waved at me. As expected, this is a world ruled by looks. I just can’t help it,” he said, flipping his long golden hair out of his face to reveal his dashing smile.
Xie Xie rolled his eyes. “Just how arrogant can you be?”
“An ordinary person like you wouldn’t understand what it’s like living with a handsome face,” Yue Zhengyu said, shrugging. “Look, she’s coming over. Oh? She’s pretty cute. Seems like this trip to Star Luo might be fun after all. I’ll be able to experience romance in a foreign land,” he said, a smile forming on his lips as he stood up, straightened out his clothes, and strode over to greet the girl.
Yue Zhengyu was sixteen years old and one of the workings students along with Yuanen Yehui. He looked mature and handsome, and perhaps due to the influence of his Holy Angel martial soul, his aura shone bright. Looking at him was like looking at the sun. In terms of appearance, the only person in their team that surpassed him was Tang Wulin.
“Hi,” Yue Zhengyu said to Lin Yuhan, the smile on his face taking on a more gentle shade.
Lin Yuhan looked at him, eyes narrowed. “Who are you again?”
Lin Yuhan brushed right past the frozen-in-place Yue Zhengyu to Tang Wulin. “Hi. I didn’t expect to see you here. What a coincidence, huh?” she said, a rosy blush on her cheeks.
Tang Wulin smiled. “Not a coincidence. My friends and I are part of the Douluo delegation going to Star Luo on an exchange trip.”
Yue Zhengyu gaped at the two. He realized that the cute girl he saw hadn’t been waving at him, but Tang Wulin!
With a few quick steps Xie Xie was right next Yue Zhengyu. He patted him on the shoulder. “We live in a world ruled by looks. You wouldn’t understand what it’s like to be handsome.”
Yue Zhengyu’s eye twitched as he turned to look at the other boy. On his face suddenly bloomed a charming smile, and he grabbed Xie Xie by the waist. Lips nearly pressed to Xie Xie’s ears, he whispered, “It doesn’t matter. To be honest, I’m not interested in girls.”
“Ugh!” Shivers ran down Xie Xie’s spine and he bolted away like lightning.
The rest of the team watched on in a variety of emotions. Xu Xiaoyan and Xu Lizhi laughed so hard they fell to the floor, unable to pick themselves up even if they tried. Yuanen Yehui couldn’t help but let out a smile, as wry as it was, and Ye Xinglan shook her head helplessly. As for Gu Yue, she moved her gaze between Tang Wulin and Lin Yuhan, her lips pressed tight together.
Lin Yuhan raised a brow at Tang Wulin. "Are you here as a representative of the Douluo blacksmiths? You made any progress lately?”
“I’m just here with my academy. And nope. Haven’t broken through yet.”
“Hehe. Just wait ‘til we’re back on my home turf, then we’ll have a rematch. I’ll definitely beat you!”
A chuckle escaped Tang Wulin’s lips. “Sure! A rival is great motivation! I’m looking forward to our next match.”
Lin Yuhan held his gaze for what seemed to have felt like forever. In reality, it was only a few seconds. The she spun on her heel and left.
“Wow! Captain, your network is so wide!” Yue Zhengyu grumbled.
“Of course,” Tang Wulin answered nonchalantly.
Yue Zhengyu turned to Gu Yue. “Did you know about his flower-picking excursions?”
Gu Yue rolled her eyes. “He doesn’t go picking flowers. The flowers come to him.”
The moment those words left her lips, Tang Wulin straightened his back and said, “Even when I’m surrounded by a field of flowers, not a single petal has touched me.”
Just when Tang Wulin finished speaking, Wu Zhangkong appeared behind him and smacked him on the back of the head. “How old do you think you are?” The chill in his voice cowed all of his young charges into silence.
“Ahem. Just pretend I didn’t say anything,” Tang Wulin said, averting his eyes from meeting Wu Zhangkong’s.
With a flutter of his robes, Wu Zhangkong swiftly moved back to the corner and leaned against the wall. Evidently, he had witnessed their little commotion just now from beginning to end.
“Teacher Wu, that’s not right!” Yue Zhengyu said in defiance. “We’re in the prime of our youth! The period in our lives when we have the most fantasies! If we don’t enjoy ourselves now, are we supposed get more experienced when we’re old and wrinkly?”
Wu Zhangkong stared back at Yue Zhengyu, eyes dull and devoid of any emotion. Not a single word left his mouth.
Xu Xiaoyan giggled. “Pft. So with your experience, you bought an entire drink shop just to get a girl’s number?”
Yue Zhengyu’s face instantly stiffened. “So what if I bought a shop? That shop is making me loads of money now,” he said as he cautiously glanced at Yuanen Yehui. He coughed. ““I’ll uh… I’ll reimburse your lost wages.”
Yuanen Yehui only snorted in response and turned away. Her anger was rising to her head just thinking about the money she lost because of him. But after such a long time as classmates, she had already forgiven him for the incident.
Yue Zhengyu’s words and action were not missed by Xie Xie. In fact, Xie Xie scrunched his nose and looked at Yue Zhengyu as if he were a piece of stained underwear. “One glance at your greasy hair and pasty-powdered face and anyone can tell you’re bad news.”
“You trying to start a duel?”
“Sure. Or are you afraid you’ll lose?” Xie Xie said, full of confidence.
“Enough. Stop putting on a show for everyone,” Tang Wulin said, pushing the two apart. Their raised voices had already drawn a small crowd.
Still, the government officials responsible for the exchange maintained order. Even as more and more people crammed into the lobby
As the trickle of newcomers finally stopped flowing, the loudspeakers turned on. “Hello everyone. I’m the Federation’s secretary-general, Pan Wen, and I’ll be leading the delegation going on the exchange to Star Luo. I ask that the leader of the Star Luo delegation quickly do a headcount then board busses one through twenty-five. As for us, we’ll be boarding busses twenty-six to fifty-two. Please make sure everyone in your division is present now.”
Organizing large groups of people was always a challenge, and it was clear that Pan Wen was skilled at his job with how well he handled managing over two thousand people from two different nations leaving for a foreign land.
Once everyone was onboard, a platoon of mechas escorted the caravan straight to the dock.
Tang Wulin sat at the back of the bus in the aisle seat while Gu Yue took the window seat. This was par for the course. Apart from sleeping arrangements, everyone in their group knew that the seat beside Tang Wulin belonged to Gu Yue.
Gu Yue leaned on the window with her eyes closed. After their adventure in the spirit ascension platform, she had returned to her normal behavior. She shared few words with Tang Wulin, but they held a deep understanding of each other.
On the way to the dock, they had a clear view of the ocean. Two large ships sat on the harbor. A single glance and Tang Wulin could tell that each ship had at least five levels to it and was installed with numerous lustrous soul cannons. The ocean was by no means safe after all. The Federation had to take precautions against the countless powerful soul beasts lurking beneath the waves.
After exterminating the soul beasts on land, humanity had turned their sights to the ocean. The population of sea soul beasts rapidly plummeted, but they preserved their numbers by retreating deeper into the ocean. Even to this day, that was so.
The only way to safely travel long distances across the ocean was with ships equipped with heavy firepower. Such as the two ships in the harbor. Each was worth an astronomical amount. Tang Wulin had heard that part of the reason that Star Luo had sent a delegation to Douluo was to show off their naval might. Even so, it would take them a while to catch up with the Federation’s advanced technology.
They soon arrived at on the dock and everyone disembarked. Now that he was right in front of the ships, Tang Wulin could truly behold their size.
The two delegations were not each assigned an individual ship. Instead, each ship would contain half of both delegations in order for them to intermingle and forge diplomatic relations. In the midst of such grand plans, the calm and quiet group from Shrek Academy was overlooked until it came time to place them on a ship.