Tang Corporation –
Tang Wulin glared at the intelligence report in his hand, his face twisted with rage. With a furious roar, he swept everything off the table in front of him, sending it crashing to the floor.
His bloodshot eyes were terrifying to behold.
"Damn wench! I knew something was off when my application for the Tang Sect Group name got rejected! So this is where they were waiting for me!"
After a string of curses, Tang Wulin unleashed his fury on the table, reducing it to splinters before finally exhaling a long, labored breath. His anger subsided, but only slightly.
When he learned that Tang Ya was a member of the Tian Xing Knights, Tang Wulin hadn't been worried in the slightest. He even continued running his business as usual, confident in the backing of the formidable Hao Tian Sect. After all, a single Limit Douluo couldn't stand against his two fathers.
Yes, even if the entire Tian Xing Knights came after him, it wouldn't matter. His two fathers weren't just ordinary Limit Douluo—they were near-god-level powerhouses. Taking on three opponents at once would be no problem for them.
But the tides had turned far too quickly. In just a few years, the imperial system that had endured for tens of thousands of years vanished completely. As an arms dealer, Tang Wulin could no longer conduct his arms trade and was now reduced to selling metal products to make ends meet.
Fortunately, with cheap labor supplied by the Hao Tian Hammer, his company remained one of the top metal product manufacturers on the Douluo Continent.
But these worldly pursuits were not what Tang Wulin truly desired.
He was the young master of the Hao Tian Sect and the chosen child of the Sea God's prophecy. He had come to glorify the Sea God's legacy, yet now even the Tang Sect—a symbol of faith—had been stripped away from him. How could he possibly accept this?
Tang Wulin had originally planned to take things slow and steady. But who could have foreseen that the very ground beneath his feet would become someone else's domain?
Matters concerning the Sea God's faith left no room for such patience.
At this moment, Tang Wulin had yet to recover his memories from the divine realm. All he knew was that divine grace was a blessing—but failing to uphold it would invite heavenly retribution!
For now, however, Tang Wulin had no better options. He could only spend lavishly to hire wandering bards across the continent to sing the praises of the old Tang Sect, hoping to stem the loss of faith in its legacy.
The victors always dictated justice, and they held the power to define the fate of the defeated. Only the winners were seen as righteous.
With Shrek Academy's decline, the Douluo Continent had officially entered the era of the Tian Xing Federation. The throne of victory now belonged to the Tian Xing Federation.
Tang Wulin's rise to prominence through the Tang Corporation hadn't been due to his own talents but because he stood in the shadow of the strongest force on the Douluo Continent.
Now that supreme power had changed hands, Tang Wulin truly understood the despair of being weak.
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Tian Xing City, the power center of the Tian Xing Federation, was a twin city built adjacent to Tian Xing Academy.
Tang Sect – the highest-level confidential intelligence organization of the Tian Xing Federation, directly responsible to the Three Sovereigns.
And who else but Tang Ya could lead the Tang Sect?
Years had passed, and the once lively and cheerful girl had matured into a poised and elegant woman. Her every movement exuded grace, subtly conveying her unshakable composure.
As she read the report about wandering bards spreading tales of the old Tang Sect, Tang Ya's expression remained utterly calm.
Times had changed. Tang Ya's current standing was such that she didn't need to concern herself with the Hao Tian Sect or Tang Wulin's Tang Corporation.
But the honor of the Tang Sect could not be sullied by these people.
The glory the Tang Sect had earned had nothing to do with Tang Wulin. How dare he bask in the reflected glory of his ancestors?
After a brief moment of thought, Tang Ya devised a solution and began writing furiously.
Once the plan was handed down, she paid it no further mind. Compared to minor irritations like Tang Wulin, her real priority was rooting out the "rats in the shadows" of the Tian Xing Federation, ensuring they couldn't undermine the foundations of this new nation.
In this era of limited entertainment, the epic tales sung by wandering bards provided a popular pastime for the common folk.
"Long, long ago, two continents collided..."
Under the bard's melodious voice, the story of the Tang Sect unfolded, recounting the blood and glory of that era. Many commoners listened intently, savoring the tale.
"So there was once such a sect on the continent, passed down by the Sea God Tang San. How magnificent!"
"Yes, yes! The Sun Moon Empire back then was no pushover."
"Speaking of which, how come I've never heard of this sect? Though I've heard of a similar official organization recently. Sir Bard, do you know anything about it?"
A curious young man asked the wandering bard.
Being a wandering bard wasn't a job just anyone could take up. In this era of scarce education for commoners, every bard came from a family with some scholarly tradition—perhaps a fallen soul master lineage or the illegitimate child of a noble house. Thus, addressing them as "Sir" wasn't considered improper.
Though the bard with the small mustache hadn't received many tips, he was in high spirits because his earnings weren't based on donations.
Answering questions from commoners was part of his job. Twirling his dashing little mustache, he adopted a grave tone and said:
"It's normal you haven't heard of them. This sect has been fighting on the frontlines of war for four thousand years, only falling into decline in recent decades.
However—"
The bard was about to segue into a dramatic retelling of Tang Wulin's efforts to revive the Tang Sect.
But just then, a voice interrupted him.
"However, the Tang Sect has already risen again. Have you heard of the Tang Sect, the direct intelligence agency under the Three Sovereigns? It's the achievement of the descendants of the Tang Sect's heroes.
And you should know the current leader of the Tang Sect—it's Lady Tang Ya, one of Tian Xing's seven disciples and now the Soul Master of the Tang Sect."
Though the young man's interruption was somewhat rude, the crowd instinctively revered the disciples of Ye Wen. They praised Tang Ya's greatness and declared that "a tiger doesn't breed dogs."
But the bard's face turned green with anger.
After all, the people monitoring his propaganda efforts calculated his bonus based on his effectiveness. Furious, he snapped, "What nonsense are you spouting? The true successor of the Tang Sect is the CEO of the Tang Corporation! What does this so-called official Tang Sect have to do with it?"
The interrupting youth smirked at him but didn't respond immediately. Instead, he pulled out an ID card and showed it to the crowd.
"What's the connection? Lin Fan, First-Class Investigator under the Tang Sect, reporting. Tell me, what's my relationship to you?"
Instantly, the bard's face turned a sickly shade of green.
He was just a lowly one-ring soul master trying to scrape by with his words. What had he done wrong? Why had he run into official trouble? Help!
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