Chapter 1716: Head To The Sixteenth Level
The numerous War Gods stood in a line behind the Skycrosser Douluo Guan Yue. Guan Yue looked at Tang Wulin and his comrades with mixed emotions. He heaved a soft sigh. “From this day forth, your generation of the Shrek Seven Monsters is considered matured.”
Tang Wulin smiled and nodded in salutation to the numerous War Gods before him. He would not mention Guan Yue’s guidance nor thank Guan Yue in front of all the people.
“The spar has ended. You’ve the authority to venture deeper now. Later on, I’ll be bringing you all to enter the deeper levels of the War God Hall. Your capabilities have been tested, but there are still other tests awaiting you.” Guan Yue said to Tang Wulin with a meaningful glance. Then, he made an inviting gesture toward the crowd.
At present, the crowd from Shrek were excited.
They had won and they knew it.
Even though the outcomes of the many rounds of battles were ties toward the latter parts of the test, they were confident enough to take on the battles for real.
Apart from Tang Wulin, no one had any idea of Guan Yue’s capabilities. Hence, they thought that they had won.
It signified the uprising of Shrek. It was a real uprising to boot.
The War Gods were all suppressed by them including the few high-ranking War Gods at the front.
Whether it was A Ruheng’s Golden Body Arhat or the Leakproof Golden Body, or even Xu Xiaoyan’s number one control skills under the starry sky, the War God Hall was truly shocked.
From this moment onward, this generation of the Shrek Seven Monsters had achieved the top tier of the soul masters’ world. They had truly matured just as mentioned by the Skycrosser Douluo.
One could imagine that in the near future when everyone of them was cladded in a four-word battle armor, Shrek would certainly be at the advent of a prosperous era.
The wall cracked open to reveal a path. Under Guan Yue’s guidance, the people followed the War Gods to another place.
The numerous War Gods in the War God Hall had yet to recover from the shock. Despite feeling recalcitrant in their hearts, they had no choice but to admit everything that had happened was real and the people from Shrek were truly powerful.
Ling Zichen had woken up from her previous state. She appeared rather quiet now. Tang Wulin transmitted his voice to ask how she was doing and she replied that she was doing fine.
It was not the right time for Tang Wulin to talk to her. He realized that it was a crushing blow for her when she failed to fight the Demon Guqin Douluo. The arrogant Director Ling was certainly feeling bitter now.
It was a good thing because one could only improve after suffering a setback. Thus, Tang Wulin did not try to talk to her anymore. He decided that they would discuss it further after leaving this place. Moreover, they had other important tasks at hand.
The Skycrosser Douluo Guan Yue came to a halt while the rest of the War Gods stood by his side. Guan Yue looked at the Asiatic Apple Douluo and asked, “Mengshan, are you going to stay with us for the time being or join them?”
Shi Mengshan took a glance at A Ruheng by her side and replied, “I’m joining them.”
As soon as she gave her reply, the other War Gods exhibited rather unpleasant expressions on their faces. It signified that the Asiatic Apple Douluo’s heart was with the others.
The War God Hall had never been strict with its regulations because it was an organization under the jurisdiction of the parliament. The decision to leave was never an issue. As long as the person obeyed the enlistment order, the organization would never control a War God’s marriage.
A number of the War Gods understood Shi Mengshan’s situation. After all, it was not an easy task for the Asiatic Apple Douluo to find a life partner. Now that she had finally found someone, they were happy for her.
“Alright.” Guan Yue nodded.
“Be prepared. This will take you straight to the sixteenth level of hell. We’ve completed the adjustments beforehand. You’ll be considered as having passed all eighteen levels of hell once you pass the next three levels.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Guan Yue pressed an unidentified button. Soon after, Tang Wulin and the rest felt the ground beneath their feet vanish and their bodies drop instantly.
The group had the ability to fly. However, there was a strong suction force from below. It forcefully pulled their bodies into free fall.
Xu Xiaoyan was still in an excited state from the battle earlier. She quickly unleashed her Star Chain at once to link up everyone. Naturally, Ling Zichen was the exception because she was not a soul master. Her mecha did not have the ability to exploit the Star Chain’s sharing ability.
Simultaneously, Tang Wulin also reacted to the situation. His Mountain Dragon King’s Torso Bone was unleashed to control the gravitational field in the surroundings. Yuanen Yehui assisted by throwing a few punches downward to stabilize their freefall.
The entrance overhead which was opened a while ago was now closed. Everything in the surroundings darkened.
Yue Zhengyu spread out his wings and summoned the Holy Light. It illuminated the surroundings akin to a small sun.
It seemed like they were in a cavern. It reminded Tang Wulin of the abyssal passage in the past because the walls were engraved with all kinds of soul circuit striations. The only difference was that there was a very strong suction force coming from below that pulled at them constantly into a freefall.
They dropped for nearly two minutes before the suction force weakened. At last, the people could see the ground below them illuminated by Yue Zhengyu’s body.
To be more precise, the ground appeared to be the surface of water because they could hear the sound of water lapping as they approached the bottom. The water was rippling energetically which meant that it was a pool of flowing water.
Tang Wulin looked toward his comrades.
Xie Xie took it upon himself. “I’ll go since I can swim.” As he was speaking, a radiance bloomed on his body which made him alternate between illusion and reality. He dived straight into the water.
A Star Chain was connected to his back to ensure his safety. The others were hovering above the water.
The suction force had disappeared completely by then. It looked like they would need to cross the underground river to get to the War God Hall’s sixteenth level.
“According to the speed and duration of our fall, we should have arrived at the bottom of the mountain instead of being at its center. The underground river should be connected to the river outside judging by the velocity of the groundwater flow. If I’m not mistaken, the West Mountain area of Mingdu has a river formed from the glacial waters, and it is known as the Ming River. It flows in the southwest direction all the way to the sea.” Ling Zichen who had been quiet earlier finally spoke.
As a scientist, she was used to making judgments based on the data gathered.
It did not take long before a ‘plop’ was heard. Xie Xie got out from the water and shook his body to dry himself.
“There’s a river under the water. It’s very long. I swam ahead for about a thousand meters, but I didn’t see the end. That was the limit of the Star Chain. I was afraid that all of you would be worried, so I came back. Based on the current situation, it’s not dangerous in the river, and I didn’t see any sign of a soul beast. The only thing is I don’t know how long it’ll take before we can reach the exit.”
Tang Wulin asked, “Is there a branch under the water?”
Xie Xie shook his head and said, “Not as far as I can tell. The underground river runs in a straight line all the way into the distance. Our only issue is air. Although we’re all capable of recycling the air, there’s still a limit to our abilities. I don’t think we can last more than half an hour.”
A Ruheng said, “Why don’t I give it a try? I can withhold my breath underwater for about two to three hours.”
Shi Mengshan who had been silent by his side suddenly tugged at him.
A Ruheng turned his head to the side and looked toward her. Everyone including A Ruheng did not think of asking Shi Mengshan about this place.
After all, the Asiatic Apple Douluo was from the War God Hall. On the other hand, they were about to face a test of the War God Hall. Undoubtedly, it would make things difficult for Shi Mengsan if they were to ask her now. Hence, everyone understood the reason for not asking her. Instead, they decided to rely on their own judgements.
A Ruheng looked at her with a questioning gaze.