Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Under the cover of night, a pitch-black Soul Guide Helicopter gleaming with a strange dark light passed through thin clouds and the frigid evening wind, entering that infinitely prosperous world.
From high above, it overlooked a vast metropolis large enough to astonish anyone. Towering buildings stood in dense rows, stretching without end like a steel forest rising from the earth.
On the streets, traffic flowed endlessly. Headlights traced streams of moving light, like golden rivers surging through the city's veins.
The red light turned green, and in an instant, pedestrians streamed across the roads, weaving through one another and merging with the traffic and the clamor of honking horns.
In the distance, the Ferris wheel's colorful lights slowly revolved like an incomparably wondrous time machine, taking in all the city's prosperity and dreamlike splendor.
Yet the most eye-catching feature of this city was a tower-shaped building far taller than all the rest. Like a pillar of a god's palace, it overlooked everything below and pierced straight into the heavens.
This was the most prosperous city on the Douluo Continent—Shrek City!
"Identity confirmed. Greetings to you."
An electronic voice received from outside sounded beside Qiangu Qingfeng's ear. He did not move, his hands continuously stroking the two boxes containing his children's ashes and the last traces of their lingering souls.
Three hundred meters away from the Soul Guide Helicopter, fifteen Soul Guide Mechas of varying colors and shapes hovered in the sky with the kinetic force provided by their thrusters. They watched it depart until the Soul Guide Helicopter vanished into the darkness, only then withdrawing their gazes.
"Being able to fly over Shrek City at night... I'm tired of saying how envious I am."
"Aren't you flying at night too?"
"How is that the same?"
"Just say whether you're flying or not."
"Captain, is that the Black Demon Soul Guide Helicopter? I heard it can fuse with Soul Spirits, and it costs even more than your Black Grade mecha."
"It's that awesome?"
Inside the Black Grade humanoid mecha at the front of the formation, a middle-aged man calmly withdrew his gaze and said indifferently, "Who knows? Alright, continue the patrol."
As his words fell, the eight-meter-tall mecha, with its smooth lines and exceptionally agile appearance, slowly increased the energy output of the thrusters beneath its feet and on its back. Flames of light burst forth, carrying it forward.
The others swiftly shut their mouths and followed their captain, maintaining their patrol formation.
In Shrek City, the number one city on the Douluo Continent, there were a total of thirty patrol squads led by Black Mechas.
Even Ming Capital, the capital of the Sun Moon Federation, could not compare to such a deployment.
That was because these thirty mecha Patrol Teams had been jointly funded by two of the continent's strongest Soul Master powers: Shrek Academy and the Spirit Pagoda.
Amid the howling wind, the Soul Guide Helicopter left behind countless skyscrapers and entered a special mountainous forest region known as the Spirit Spirit Realm.
This place fell exclusively under the jurisdiction of the Spirit Pagoda. Even Shrek Academy had little authority to oversee it.
It all dated back to the Ancient Era. When Spirit Ice Douluo Huo Yuhao proposed expanding Shrek City, the Spirit Pagoda provided immense assistance over the following years and thus obtained a plot of land to develop on its own.
At the outskirts of the Spirit Spirit Realm, faint yellow glimmers flashed from time to time, like an inverted bowl protecting the area. Its strength was enough to withstand the simultaneous bombardment of ten Level Eight Soul Guide Cannonballs.
If its functions were pushed to their limit, it could even withstand three Level Nine Fixed Soul Guide Cannonballs head-on.
During the day, the Core Array within this Light Energy Shield continuously absorbed solar energy and required no manual recharging.
Generally, any coastal city with sufficient financial resources possessed a weakened version of this Light Energy Shield, mainly to resist typhoon impacts.
Typical examples were several cities led by Skysea City on the eastern side of the Douluo Continent.
When the Soul Guide Helicopter was still two hundred meters from the Light Energy Shield, several beams immediately swept out from within the mountains. Once its identity was confirmed, ripples spread across the surface of the massive Light Energy Shield, and an entrance large enough for it to pass through instantly opened.
The Soul Guide Helicopter flew inside and headed straight for a villa halfway up the mountain, finally descending slowly onto a marked landing pad.
"Master, we have arrived."
A deep voice rang out, interrupting Qiangu Qingfeng's thoughts, which had drifted away for a long time.
He rubbed his brow and was about to rise when a pleasant, distant melody suddenly sounded beside his ears. Its penetrating power was so great that even the Black Demon Soul Guide Helicopter's soundproof barrier could not block it.
His movements paused, and he sighed. "You Ming, what do you think I should do?"
To the side, the humanoid Soul Spirit whose entire body emitted pitch-black dark light froze. The flames of soul flickering in his eyes seemed somewhat lost. "I don't know. But I can borrow the words you spoke when you left the Qian Gu Family and traveled the world alone: things have come to this. I think... whatever you must face, you will have to face it eventually."
"Yes." Qiangu Qingfeng let out a long sigh. "I will have to face it eventually."
The hands that could shatter a mountain peak were trembling slightly at this moment.
Even when he had returned to the family years ago to challenge his second brother, who was more trusted by the family, before all those family members, he had never been like this.
Walking from the landing pad into the villa estate felt like stepping out of the noisy human world and into nature.
Qiangu Qingfeng lightened his footsteps and entered a bamboo grove.
At the center of the grove stood a pavilion. A gentle breeze blew through it, rustling the bamboo and producing a soothing brushing sound.
Yet even more calming than that was the qin music that blended into the wind.
Here, even if it was the violent Fire Element, it could not help but grow calm.
But Qiangu Qingfeng's heart remained unable to settle. As he looked at the graceful figure seated in the pavilion, his eyes flickered without pause.
A jade hand stroked the snow-white zither. Thin cold mist surged from between the fingers plucking the strings. Xia Zheng Leng's delicate, pretty face bore a faint smile. As the strongest Sound Wave Soul Master of the present era, playing the zither had long become a hobby woven into her soul. Moreover, it was also the best way for her to seek an opportunity for breakthrough.
"Qing Feng, your heart is in turmoil." Xia Zheng Leng's eyes remained closed as she spoke softly.
Qiangu Qingfeng was not surprised that his wife had sensed it. The two had long been connected in heart and mind.
"What is wrong?" Seeing that Qiangu Qingfeng remained silent, Xia Zheng Leng asked with a smile. Her fingers continued to pluck the strings, and under her control, the music became increasingly gentle, as though it could wash away all troubles.
Qiangu Qingfeng looked at his beloved wife, his expression complicated. "A Nan and Yue Er... something happened to them."
Xia Zheng Leng's fingers abruptly halted on the strings.
The melodious Qin Music came to an abrupt stop.
The air in the bamboo grove seemed to freeze as well.
Qiangu Qingfeng said in a deep voice, "Not long ago, Dong Feng found another unknown Small World on the Star Luo Continent. To find a way to save Liujing, A Nan and Yue Er hurried inside without waiting for a Vanguard to explore it. Sun Kong was worried about them, so he led several people in after them."
"Inside, they discovered a small number of Spirit Items beneficial to souls, which gave them hope. But because the Spatial Node connecting the Small World to the Douluo Plane suddenly became unstable and could close within four hours, A Nan and Yue Er feared there would not be enough time. They proposed splitting up midway. When they separated, they encountered Evil Soul Masters."
"After a fight to the death, they perished together."
He did not go into much detail, but the last sentence came out with particular difficulty.
Xia Zheng Leng's breathing suddenly caught. At some point, her tightly shut eyes had opened. Within those tranquil, still-water eyes flickered strange dark light. In an instant, invisible sonic Soul Power spread out violently, and the entire bamboo grove seemed to be sliced apart by countless blades, cracks appearing everywhere.
Qiangu Qingfeng reacted quickly. The powerful Soul Power within him rapidly surged outward, layer upon layer covering the bamboo grove and preventing it from being torn apart. He said in a deep voice, "A Nan and Yue Er have retained their final traces of undying souls. They want to see Liujing one last time. Come with me, alright? I'll explain the rest afterward."
Xia Zheng Leng closed her eyes in pain.
"Alright."
Inside the villa's hall, Qiangu Qingfeng and Xia Zheng Leng stood side by side, staring directly at the two gradually dissipating souls before them. For a long time, neither spoke.
After the two souls dissipated, Xia Zheng Leng seemed to lose all her strength. In a daze, she collapsed back onto the sofa and covered her face with both hands.
For the white-haired to send off the black-haired had always been one of life's greatest sorrows.
Qiangu Qingfeng's eyes were filled with grief as well, but his wife needed him more at this moment. Just as he was about to comfort her, a subtle ripple stirred within his normally still Sea of Consciousness, as though something had touched his perception.
Lowering his head to look at the Soul Guide Storage Ring on his finger, his gaze deepened.
On the eastern side of the villa, inside a warmly decorated bedroom.
A little boy who looked five or six years old lay on the soft bed. Perhaps because he rarely saw sunlight, his skin was extremely pale and carried a faint cold sheen.
He had remained unconscious like this for several months.
The wind blowing in through the window gently stirred his smooth black hair, and everything seemed exceptionally peaceful.
But at that moment, a crack streaked with lightning appeared out of nowhere on one side of the room. The next instant, a bead-like object emerged from within. Seemingly sensing the call between bloodlines, it swiftly fell onto the boy's body and silently merged into him like cotton candy meeting hot water.
This book's pace is relatively slow. Please forgive me.
Before you continue