Chapter 1019 - Authenticity Guaranteed
If Tang Wulin was Blood Nine, then there would be no issue with his rank as a major general. He understood it was his rash action which led to the situation at hand. If all he had to do was to fix a building, it was a small price to pay.
“I’ll have someone fix it for you right away.” After he finished, a shame-faced Ma Shan walked hurriedly away. After all, he was not decently dressed at the moment.
Watching Ma Shan leave, Tang Wulin shook his head in helplessness. What was all this? It was truly an undeserved catastrophe on his part. Sure enough, it was not a good thing to be promoted so quickly.
“You’re Blood Nine already?” a sweet, unbelieving voice came from the side.
Tang Wulin turned around to find it was Long Yuxue. He said with a smile, “Yeah! Actually, most of it is due to my luck. Until the former Blood Nine challenges me to another duel, I’ll still be Blood Nine, for sure.”
Long Yuxue stared at him blankly.
When he had just arrived, she was his directing officer who taught him all there was to know about the army. She was the one who brought him into the abyssal passages to fight the abyssal creatures.
A few months on, he had already become her senior officer instead. Although a lieutenant colonel and a major general appeared to be only a few ranks apart, the disparity was akin to a natural chasm.
For reasons unbeknownst to herself, Long Yuxue suddenly felt that the contrast between them was growing.
She could still picture him calling her senior officer every time they spoke. Now, however, she was the one who had to address him as a senior officer! She found it difficult to adapt to this change in status.
“We’re collaborating partners. Don’t think too much about it. Even I feel that I’m in some sort of a dream.” Tang Wulin shook his hand in front of the dazed Long Yuxue.
Long Yuxue snapped back to her senses. She said nothing, but her gaze had changed slightly.
Not long after, Ma Shan brought with him a group of Iron Blood Battalion warriors and began repairing the wall. With that much manpower, the job was a piece of cake. The wall was restored to its original state in less than an hour.
Ma Shan’s attitude was clearly changed. “Senior officer, I’m so sorry for today. I’ve acted too rashly!”
Tang Wulin said with a smile, “Commander Ma, don’t call me senior officer. You’re the mainstay of the army, while I happen to be in luck. It was my senior, the former Blood Nine who let me win which landed me the title temporarily. Just call me Blood Nine or by my actual name, Tang Wulin. There’s no need to call me a senior officer.”
Ma Shan scratched his head and said with a smile, “I think our relationship can be described as with the exchange of blows, friendship grows. I’ve always admired those with great strength. Your power is amazing. I’ve not lost for a long time. I thought that the young man Jiang Wuyue would surpass me someday. I never expected that your power is even greater than his. When we’ve some free time in the future, let’s have more sparring sessions. It was slightly awkward just now, but I’ve always liked a good fight between pure powers. It’s also difficult to find a good opponent!”
Tang Wulin’s eyes brightened. “Alright then! We can fight in the Star Dou Battle Network later.” He had been fretting about the difficulty of finding a suitable opponent. Jiang Wuyue would not want to fight him anymore, no matter what he said. If he could fight Ma Shan who had a greater cultivation base than himself, he would gladly welcome the opportunity.
“Alright, it’s a deal. I’ll give you my Blood God Bracelet number. Keep in touch. I don’t have many hobbies, but I love to fight. Also, I’ll never willingly accept defeat. Don’t you go thinking that I’m a nuisance later!” Ma Shan chuckled.
Tang Wulin smiled as well. “As long as you don’t.”
The two of them were smiling, but the meaning behind their smiles was different.
Tang Wulin said, “Commander, Yuxue told me that you needed metals for three-word battle armor. What kind of metals are you looking for? I’ll help you draft a plan later.”
“Alright, I’ve almost forgotten about this business of ours.”
Long Yuxue looked at the two men who were walking away while hugging each other’s shoulder. She was speechless. They had been fighting with all their might just a few moments ago. How did they end up being this close? How strange indeed, the world of men!
With the improvement in his cultivation base, Tang Wulin experienced positive effects in his forging. After his Dragon Core was formed, his strength increased by leaps and bounds. Naturally, forging came easily to him, as effortless as the hand directing its fingers. Especially after he cultivated his complementing yin-yang vortices, he could now control his soul power, strength, and bloodline power with more mastery than before. Naturally, it enhanced his forging as well.
His craftsmanship, as a Saint Craftsman, was consistent at the moment. His Soul Refinement’s success rate had greatly increased.
After talking with Ma Shan, Tang Wulin understood his request. Ma Shan’s request was actually quite simple. He just wanted an enhancement in strength. Such a battle armor would be purely physical. In truth, after one’s rank reached a certain threshold, one would experience a breakthrough in quality.
After drafting some simple plans, Tang Wulin gave Ma Shan some ideas. He further strengthened the metal portion of his original design and helped him select a spirit alloy made up of four types of metals. Then, he would apply his Soul Refinement on them.
The process of forging the spirit alloys was no longer difficult for Tang Wulin. However, it still required some skills to harmonize the four types of metals. Moreover, he had to do the Soul Refinement on them, after the harmonizing process, which added to the difficulty. Even the ordinary rank-8 Saint Craftsman could not guarantee a hundred percent success rate. That was why Tang Wulin told Ma Shan that he would need at least two months to complete his order. Also, he needed enough rare metals.
Naturally, Ma Shan would be the one to supply the materials needed for the Soul Refinement. Since they increased the quantity required for the metals, they needed more materials as well. As the Iron Blood Battalion’s commander, Ma Shan had accumulated quite a number of merit points. Since he would not be commissioned as a major general so soon, he could use his merit points to buy these metals.
Tang Wulin did not raise his processing fees for the order. He only charged him for the basic order. Ma Shan’s order was the forging of metals for three-word battle armor. It could be regarded as a huge project as all the materials had to undergo the Soul Refinement. Had it been another Saint Craftsman, the fee Ma Shan needed to pay would definitely be an astronomical figure.
What Tang Wulin wanted were the rare metals to build his black mecha. He was now Blood Nine and could enjoy great discounts. After considering the costs, he only charged Ma Shan a minimal of merit points. This naturally improved Ma Shan’s impression of him.
However, Tang Wulin had some additional terms which required Ma Shan to fight him in the Star Dou Battle Network for at least a hundred matches. The cost of the venue would also be borne by Ma Shan.
Ma Shan was convinced that he had the upper hand here which was why he agreed to the terms without hesitation.
The upcoming month was an important one for Tang Wulin. After he had beaten Blood Nine and received Blood One’s advice, he decided that he would work hard, no matter what, to keep his position as Blood Nine when their re-match would be scheduled a month later.
It was not for the military rank, but for his own glory. At the same time, it gave him much motivation.
He had set a period of a month to improve himself.
The final rounds of the Federal Star Dou Battle Network Challenge would take place fifteen days later. It was also an important training exercise for him. Hence, he would need to improve his strength even more. By training himself through battling for a month, Tang Wulin believed that his strength would definitely improve much more by then.
With Ma Shan as a sparring partner, it fitted his plans well. After all, only one match would be held each day. He could spar with Ma Shan any time he wished to challenge his body to the extreme.
He sat cross-legged in his room. Tang Wulin’s breathing was steady. Soon, he entered into a blissful state.
His Dragon Core flickered with a golden light whereas his soul core’s glow was more reserved. His complementing yin-yang vortices swirled, and he naturally absorbed the origin energy into his body.