Chapter 1657
The ownership rights over Eternal Heaven were simply far too important. Even for powerful beings of Cao Dezhi and Zang Xin's caliber, the Shrek City bombing had traumatized them greatly. The Tang Sect's super soul array system had been designed specifically to guard against godslayer missiles, but Eternal Heaven was said to be the most fearsome weapon in human history with power that exceeded the sum of the other two godslayer missiles; who could rest easy with such a fearsome weapon out there?
With the advancement of technology, Limit Douluos who were four-word battle armor masters were no longer invincible; even the Atlas Douluo in his prime wouldn’t have dared to stand against Eternal Heaven.
Furthermore, the unreplicable nature of Eternal Heaven made it even more valuable from a strategic perspective. Not only would it ensure the safety of Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect, it could help them completely turn the tables.
"The information is from Elder Long, so it's definitely accurate. I'm assuming she went to go see the Boundless Ocean Douluo," Tang Wulin replied.
Cao Dezhi was enlightened upon hearing this, and he said, "Alright, come to Heaven Dou City and I'll give you the full details."
Tang Wulin immediately agreed to this, and after ending the call, he decided to take Ling Zichen with him to Heaven Dou City.
Their soul car traveled along the highway that had been recently constructed as part of the Shrek Academy rebuild. Now, there were several main roads connecting the Sea God's Lake to the surrounding highways, making it a lot more convenient to get to and from the academy.
"Why do I have to come? Can't you go on your own?" Ling Zichen grumbled with a sour expression.
Come to think of it, her expression was rarely ever not sour.
Tang Wulin replied, "You need to be able to do your part in this operation. With your expertise in soul technology, there's a very good chance we'll have to rely on you to deal with all of the obstructive soul tools in the Battle God Hall headquarters, so you have to come with me. Also, what have you been up to these past few days?"
He very rarely saw Ling Zichen, and even today, it had taken him a very long time to find her.
"I'm overseeing the construction of the super soul array system. There are many parts that aren't up to scratch, and certain sections are off by as much as a few millimeters. The angle of some of the arrays are also incorrect; all of this would result in increased energy expenditure and decreased effectiveness of the system. If you ask me, these people need to be whipped every day so they can do their jobs more diligently."
Tang Wulin's eyelids twitched slightly upon seeing this. He had examined the construction of the super soul array system himself, and it was already being constructed very accurately and precisely.
"Did you put their work under a microscope? Don't be so nitpicky," Tang Wulin said in a resigned manner.
"You're calling me nitpicky?" Ling Zichen's voice immediately sprang up a few octaves, and she turned to glower at Tang Wulin with a vicious expression.
"Not at all! You're absolutely correct!" Tang Wulin immediately backed down; there was simply no reasoning with a madwoman!
Ling Zichen harrumphed coldly, "With such severe resource shortages, all of our resources must be used extremely carefully, and any waste is criminal. Do you know how much resources it would take to construct an academy of your scale? Back when the two Limit Douluos first proposed this plan, I was the first to object, and even now, I still stand by my objection. I can barely think of a more egregious waste than to use so much resources to protect an academy!"
Tang Wulin's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this. "You're correct to say that resources shouldn't be wasted, but they still have to be used. Shrek Academy is a place of education; it is vital for the future. During the Shrek Academy bombing, all of the teachers sacrificed themselves to protect us, the students. Many of them would've been able to escape had they tried, but they didn't do that; why is that? Our Tang Sect has chosen to expend so much resources to rebuild the academy precisely because they also want to protect this beacon of hope. On top of that, this is also being done to protect our Tang Sect; how can we strive to help the entire continent when we don't even have a safe base of operations?"
"Alright, alright, I should've known you'd give such a boring lecture. I'm going to take a nap; don't disrupt me."
Ling Zichen set her seat to recline mode as she spoke, and her breathing quickly evened out.
Meanwhile, Tang Wulin began to think of all of the possible scenarios that could arise during this operation. Whether they could obtain Eternal Heaven or not could very well decide whether this war would eventuate, as well as whether Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect could return to their former glory, so this operation was extremely important.
The driver of the car was a Soul Douluo who was a direct disciple of Zang Xin's.
All of a sudden, Ling Zichen's breathing began to accelerate, immediately drawing Tang Wulin's attention.
Currently, Ling Zichen's brows were tightly furrowed, but her eyes were still shut, and it seemed that she was having a nightmare. The domineering disposition she gave off during her waking hours had completely disappeared, and she was curled up on her seat like a vulnerable little kitten. There was even a line of drool slowly flowing out of the corner of her mouth.
"Father..." All of a sudden, she shuddered before grabbing tightly onto Tang Wulin's arm. Of course, her grip was only tight for a normal person, but it wasn't much for Tang Wulin. However, her despairing cry sent tremors running through Tang Wulin's heart.
He instantly recalled Gu Yuena during her period of amnesia, where she had also referred to him as her father. That was the most peaceful period of time they had spent together ever since their relationship had been established. Whenever he thought back to those times, he would think that perhaps it wouldn't be so bad if things had remained that way.
"Father..." Ling Zichen called out once again, and there were already tears flowing down her cheeks as her body trembled slightly.
It was hard to imagine that someone so overbearing could display such vulnerability.
Tang Wulin couldn't bring himself to withdraw his arm, and merely allowed her to hold onto it.
Ling Zichen's grasp gradually loosened, and her tightly-wound body also relaxed as she laid her head onto Tang Wulin's shoulder, pressing her entire body against his arms as if she had found a safe harbor; she was even gently rubbing Tang Wulin's shoulder with her cheek from time to time.
Tang Wulin was left feeling rather awkward. He couldn't bear to push her away when she was so vulnerable, but with her exceptional figure, he felt as if there were two soft balloons pressing against his arm. The car was traveling in a very stable manner, but there were inevitable bumps and tremors constantly reminding him of what was pressing against his arm, making him feel even more awkward.
The driver, Liu Jingyun, took a glance at the rearview mirror, and his jaw almost dropped into his lap at the sight that greeted him. As Zang Xin's disciple, he was naturally familiar with Ling Zichen, and he was regularly scolded and abused by her. With Ling Zichen's notorious reputation, everyone gave her a wide berth, but at the same time, she was a goddess among the researchers of the Tang Sect, and no one dared to mess with those scientists.
As such, in a sense, it could be said that she was an uncrowned master of the Tang Sect. Aside from the two Limit Douluos, she was the most influential figure in the entire sect.