“Tang Wulin, hold up a minute!” Dai Yun’er furiously shouted after him.
Back turned to her, Tang Wulin opened up his arms and shrugged as he continued walking away. He didn’t have a good impression of her at all. He couldn’t get along with manipulative pranksters like her. Furthermore, he wasn’t a citizen of the Star Luo Empire, so he had no loyalty to the Star Luo imperial family.
Dai Yun’er watched Tang Wulin leave with his friends, her chest huffing up and down with anger. “Just you wait…” She turned around and ran off, straight for the imperial palace.
Dai Yun’er had snuck out of the palace today, so she ran unhindered all the way back as well. She headed straight for one of the inner rooms.
“Fourth Brother! Fourth Brother!” She shouted before she even reached the door.
The door opened and a bright voice sounded, “Oh miss princess, did you stir up some trouble again? How big is the problem this time?” A man in his twenties walked out in a green robe. He was handsome, tall, and slender with a scholarly air to him as his mouth parted in a subtle smile. He held a book in his hands, seemingly have been interrupted in his reading.
“Fourth Brother!” Dai Yun’er ran over to him, tears streaming from her eyes.
Dai Yueyan’s smile vanished and he hurriedly hugged his sister. “What happened to my little princess? Who hurt you? Hurry up and tell your Fourth Brother.”
Dai Tianling had many sons, but the imperial family still lived in harmony. They had to for the sake of the Star Luo Empire.
Thousands of years ago, when the Star Luo Empire still existed on the continent of Douluo, the sons of the emperor would compete in life-and-death struggles for the right of succession. The most powerful would earn the right to become the next emperor. However, after a certain generation, this tradition of ruthless competition between siblings was abolished. Instead, it was required that they all lived together peacefully and only compete in fair circumstances. Even with the change in tradition, only the most outstanding of the sons would succeed the emperor.
The Dai clan could trace its roots back tens of thousands of years.
Dai Yueyan was undoubtedly the most promising son of his generation. At the age of nineteen, he was a military genius cherished by Dai Tianling, who already planned to make him the crown prince once he turned twenty.
Dai Yueyan and Dai Yun’er were born to the same mother, and among all the brothers, he was the one who doted on her the most. In fact, he doted on her even more than their father, Dai Tianling. As a result, Dai Yun’er always went to look for him first when she ran into trouble.
Although Dai Yun’er was a troublemaker, she was a very cheerful person. It was only once in a blue moon that she would cry so much, and usually, she was only faking it to gain sympathy.
Seeing his sister shed so many tears, Dai Yueyan panicked and did his best to comfort her. But she remained silent, digging herself deeper into his arms as she wailed and stomped her feet.
“Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Be a good girl, Yun’er. Tell big brother what happened. Big brother will definitely help you. Did you do something wrong? Did Father punish you?” Dai Yueyan asked uncertainly. He knew full well how much their father spoiled her. Dai Tianling was always too reluctant to give her any sort of severe punishment. If not for his lenience, Dai Yun’er wouldn’t have grown up to be such a spoiled kid.
“It’s not Father. Father wouldn’t punish me. It’s some other guy. Fourth Brother, you know that diplomatic delegation from Douluo? One of the boys from Shrek Academy is awful. The one called Tang Wulin. He bullied me.” Dai Yun’er cried out.
“Shrek Academy?” Dai Yueyan heart thumped.
“Yeah. Shrek Academy. The night we had a banquet to welcome the diplomatic delegation, I invited him to dance with me as a show of friendliness. But he deliberately stepped on my feet!”
“Oh. Didn’t you say you wanted to choose him for your fiancé and make him the target of all the men there though?” Dai Yueyan asked, having kept well-informed. Although he hadn’t attended the banquet due to work, he still kept looped in.
“Yeah. It’s that guy. I didn’t really want to make him my fiance. I was just playing with him. But I never thought he would be so strong. He entered the Continental Young Elites Tournament and has already won two matches. He’s so arrogant! I ran into him today at the stadium and he told me I’m not worthy of him! He even said Star Luo soul masters are weak! He said that even at just fifteen years old, he can beat us all! He’s awful! He makes me so mad! Fourth Brother, help me vent my anger!” Dai Yun’er said, peppering in new details to the story wherever she pleased.
Dai Yueyan furrowed his brow as he listened. He knew his sister well and knew that probably only thirty percent of what she said was true. However, he was certain that Tang Wulin had offended her in some way, otherwise, she wouldn’t be so angry.
“Fourth Brother, I swear I’m telling the truth! He told me I’m not worthy of him! Even if I played a trick on him the other day, to say that to me in front of so many people is just… Ugh!” Dai Yun’er began crying again.
Dai Yueyan was starting to believe it now. He understood his sister and knew that whenever she swore on something, she truly meant it.
“He’s just some foreigner. How could my little sister not suit him?” Dai Yueyan’s eyes were aflame with anger. “Yun’er, don’t cry. Big brother will get back at him for you. Anyway, doesn’t Monster Academy have two free rounds in the competition? When we finally face them, we’ll show them just how much stronger we are with a good smackdown. They won’t have the face to even speak back afterward! That’ll get you your revenge.”
☀
Unknown to Tang Wulin, he had drawn the ire of the imperial princess and had just created a new obstacle for himself. When he returned to the hotel with his friends, he immediately went to his room and began meditating. With the excessive crowds the Continental Young Elites Tournament attracted to the area, he had no desire to venture out into the city.
Suddenly, Tang Wulin took out a badge from his inner chest pocket. It pulsated with a gentle white light. An arrow slowly emerged on its surface. It’s a summons from the Tang Sect’s Battle Hall!
The badge was the one he obtained from the Battle Hall, the same one that every agent of the Battle Hall possessed. As a white-class agent, his badge was also white. On the back was a button he could press to request help from any other agents within a fifty kilometer radius. Any agent who received the call would rush over to help. The arrow currently displayed indicated the source of the distress.
Tang Wulin hastily changed into his Battle Hall uniform and put on his white mask and pulled his white hood low. He dashed out of the hotel, rushing in the direction indicated on the badge.
This was Tang Wulin’s first time getting a distress signal since obtaining the Battle Hall badge. He found the situation somewhat strange. There should be a headquarters in Star Luo City. He couldn’t fathom how an agent could face danger so close to the headquarters.
Tang Wulin opted for less populated streets and alleys as he ran in the direction of the arrow. As he got closer, the arrow began blinking more and more rapidly.
For the sake of his fellow agent’s safety and remaining stealthy, he used his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Step to run.
Moments later, he arrived on the scene. But he stared in astonishment at the towering building before him.
The building’s architecture was similar to that of a castle, with simple decorations. On a sign board hanging from the gate were two words: Tang Sect!
The distress signal came from within the Tang Sect?
Quickly scanning the area, Tang Wulin saw numerous other agents dressed the same as him arriving. But none of them stopped at the gate, charging straight into the Tang Sect instead.
Although Tang Wulin had some doubts, he hurriedly followed in after them. He had never expected to visit the local Tang Sect headquarters under such circumstances. Strange as he found it, he couldn’t help but be curious as well. Why is the distress signal coming from inside?
Tang Wulin stole glances of the interior of the headquarters as he followed the other agents. To his astonishment, the building was as grand as the imperial palace and far larger than the Tang Sect in Shrek Academy.
Soon, he and the other agents arrived in a large hall. About thirty agents were gathered already. They all wore hooded cloaks and masks, as regulated by the Battle Hall. None of the agents knew the identities of their colleagues for the sake of confidentiality.
Standing before the gathering of agents was an agent with their hands behind their back and wearing a black mask and hood.