Tang Wulin was suddenly enlightened there and then. He was under the assumption that he would encounter a formidable enemy during the round-robin which was why he had even made preparations to use his Blood Soul Fusion Skill during the tournament. Thus far, he had not encountered the opponent he had imagined. His ability as two-word battle armor master, with a cultivation base close to rank-60, a dual powered martial soul and bloodline, plus the strength of the strongest army meant everything was going smoothly for him.
Jiang Wuyue continued, "Even so, don't rest on your laurels just yet. Every step during the final stage is thorny. The eight great divisions will be sending out thirty-two contestants each. That's a total of two hundred and fifty-six competitors. Those are all elites chosen from each of the great divisions. When it comes to that, try not to get eliminated in the first round, huh?"
Tang Wulin spoke in an unpleasant tone, "I think you ought to worry about yourself more."
The first three rounds of the finals were eliminations to select the final thirty-two contestants. Then, there were four rounds of round-robin matches to choose the final sixteen contestants, followed by eliminations all the way until the final champion was crowned.
The first three rounds of eliminations were definitely the toughest. One would first need to try out one's luck and could easily be eliminated if faced with a powerhouse.
Moreover, one of the first three rounds of eliminations would be carried out every day, allegedly in order to examine the contestant's continued fighting capacity! The soul master battles would be completed first, followed by the mecha battle.
Thus, the chance of being eliminated in the first round was rather high upon entering the final stage of the competition. Only the thirty-two finalists entering the round-robin in the end would be rewarded. Tang Wulin had no choice but to say that the Federation was the biggest profiteering merchant.
Jiang Wuyue chuckled. "There's nothing much for me to worry about. I can give anyone I encounter a good fight as long as it's not you." His expression suddenly changed upon saying that, and he looked at Tang Wulin with a fidgety gaze. "Little Tang, you don't think that I'll encounter you in the first round of the finals, do you?"
Tang Wulin rolled his eyes. "It's quite dismaying to see someone so uninformed. Did you not read the competition's rules? The rules of the finals state that the system will automatically avoid matches between the same division during the first three rounds of eliminations, so we won't be encountering each other. It's only possible once we've entered the round-robin."
Jiang Wuyue was immediately relieved. "Really? That's great. Haha, then there's nothing much for me to worry about. Come now, let's eat."
Ever since Jiang Wuyue began joining Tang Wulin during meals, he had spoiled his palate to the point that he ate from window number one every day.
The dishes from window number one not only tasted scrumptious but were also the most nutritious. Jiang Wuyue too discovered that eating such top-grade ingredients was beneficial for his cultivation base. It was a more dependable choice to elevate his own abilities rather than trying to move up the ranks in the military.
There was no need to say a word to Tang Wulin as he naturally had the same idea.
The main dish for them today was iceworms. They were originally farmed in the northernmost lands, but they were also kept in the snowy mountains here due to the high altitude of the Endless Mountains.
Only an iceworm of at least half a foot in length was considered the highest grade. The iceworms in their main dish were one foot long with a golden stripe on each of their backs. The flesh was tender and full of extremely pure origin energy and very few impurities. It had a good elevation effect on a person's body and soul power, but it was also very costly.
The prices of the dishes from window number one were adjusted according to the ingredients. Today's meal cost three thousand merits, so it was certainly considered luxurious in the army.
Tang Wulin ate his iceworm sashimi in great mouthfuls as he recalled the basic spear technique he was working on the previous night.
It had already been half a month since he first sought guidance from Ling Wuyue on mecha operating techniques. Only the final round of the round-robin was left before the mecha battle contest was completed, and it would be happening that night. He had already achieved victories on both sides, and he had even managed to enter the finals through his total dominance in the soul master contest.
In truth, Tang Wulin had been suffering for half a month previously. Not only was he undergoing hellish training under Ling Wuyue, where he learned both intentionally and unintentionally, his own soul power cultivation was also tormenting him.
He had always thought that his soul power vortex was just about to condense into soul core, but he was always one step away and he could not seem to move forward.
Tang Wulin understood that he should not rush this process as there was a possibility of becoming delirious if he tried to advance recklessly. Yet, he was still lacking in that final one step, so it was hard for him not to hurry things along!
The ability to take this step would definitely be as boundless as the sea and sky for him.
He had been waiting too long for this day to come.
Tang Wulin ate the last mouthful of iceworm flesh and felt as it melted and burst into a refreshing feeling that fused with his body. The soul power vortex in Tang Wulin's abdominal area suddenly paused for a moment.
Tang Wulin's entire body stiffened, and he was overjoyed by the surprise. He suddenly patted on Jiang Wuyue by his side. "I've something to do, so I'm going now. Please inform Ling Wuyue that I won't be practicing mecha techniques with her this afternoon."
With that, he ran outside as if he was flying. He dashed straight to his living quarters like a whirlwind.
'It's here! It's finally here!'
The soul power vortex that paused in his body began to transform. If Tang Wulin had his inner sight on at this moment, he would see that streams of white lights like thunderbolts were shimmering around his vortex.
He endured the searing pain in his abdomen as he ran into his living quarters. He closed the door and sat down.
Tang Wulin took a deep breath before he began to calm his emotions.
'Steady. You must be steady!'
As Tang Wulin was talking inwardly to himself, he attempted to gradually calm his emotional fluctuations.
The pain in his abdomen was growing more and more intense. It felt like he was being cut with a knife, but Tang Wulin did not interfere with his blood essence power. He sat there steadily as he quietly sensed the change in his soul power vortex.
It was the opportunity of a lifetime for a soul master to cultivate a soul core. The cultivation base of a seven-ringed Soul Sage was the symbol of finally stepping into the world of high-ranking soul masters. In turn, a soul core was the symbol of a seven-ringed Soul Sage. A soul master could develop a martial soul avatar once in possession of a soul core.
A person like Tang Wulin who had yet to achieve rank-60 cultivation base but could condense his own soul core could only be described as one in a million.
Wu Zhangkong once told Tang Wulin that during the lifetime of a soul master, most people only had one chance at condensing a soul core. One's soul power fluctuation would abide by the harmony of Heaven and Earth during the condensation process, making it the best opportunity for the soul master to be inspired. The soul master must open themselves up completely, no matter how painful the process was because the opportunity would never come again if it was missed.
Tang Wulin definitely had an exceptional advantage in withstanding pain and agony. For years, he had had to deal with ever increasing levels of pain when breaking the Golden Dragon King Seals. Thus, even though the excruciating pain in his abdomen was growing stronger, he could still calm his body and mind to feel the change in his soul power quietly, as usual.
The original soul power vortex had transformed into soul power light bands that continuously collapsed inwardly during the rotations. It felt as if a black hole had appeared in his abdomen and was absorbing everything from the external world during the continuous collapsing process.
The Dragon Core sat firmly in the middle of his chest and was emitting a gentle golden radiance to strengthen Tang Wulin's bones, meridians, and muscles.
A soul master would definitely return to the process of cultivating his body once he had reached a certain level in cultivation. This was because a person's body would never be able to withstand the powerful energy fluctuation during the process of continuous soul power elevation and break through without having sufficient strength.
In this case, it would be easily handled by Tang Wulin because the physical capabilities of his body had already exceeded what was required to condense a soul core.
The inside of the soul power vortex collapsed, expanded, then collapsed and expanded again. Every time this cycle was repeated, Tang Wulin would have to bear immense pain and agony. He could also clearly sense the origin energy in the air surging wildly into him during this process. Every surge into his body brought an extremely intense soul power fluctuation.
A short distance away, Blood One opened his eyes from meditation, and a peculiar look flashed across his eyes.
He waved his right hand gently in the air, and his lips soon cracked into a faint smile. He floated up, pushed open the door and left.