The Call Between Bloodlines (Seeking Favorites)

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

In the dead of night, a pitch-black Soul Guide Helicopter, shimmering with a strange, dark luster, pierced through the thin mist and the biting night wind, entering that world of infinite prosperity.

Looking down from high altitude, it was a vast metropolis large enough to shock anyone. Towering buildings stood row upon row, stretching endlessly like a forest of steel rising from the earth.

On the streets, traffic flowed like a tapestry, the headlights carving out streaks of moving light as if golden rivers were surging ceaselessly through the city's veins.

The red light turned green, and in an instant, a continuous stream of pedestrians crossed paths, blending into the cacophony of traffic and honking horns.

In the distance, the colorful lights of a Ferris wheel rotated slowly, like a profound time machine, taking in the city's prosperity and dreamlike beauty at a glance.

But the most eye-catching structure in this city was a tower that far surpassed all others in height. It stood like a pillar of a god's palace, looking down upon all other mountains, pointing straight into the sky.

This was the most prosperous city on the Douluo Continent: Shrek City!

"Identity confirmed. Greetings."

An electronic voice received from the outside rang in Qiangu Qingfeng's ears. He did not move, his hands continuously stroking the two boxes that carried the ashes of his children and the last trace of their lingering souls.

Three hundred meters away from the Soul Guide Helicopter, fifteen Soul Guide Mechas of various colors and shapes hovered in the high sky, propelled by their thrusters. They watched it go, only turning away once the Soul Guide Helicopter vanished into the dark veil.

"I don't even want to say how envious I am of being able to fly over Shrek City at night."

"Aren't you flying at night too?"

"Is that the same thing?"

"Just tell me whether you're flying or not."

"Captain, is that the Black Demon Soul Guide Helicopter? It's said to be capable of Fusion Soul Spirit, and its production cost is even higher than your Black-level mecha."

"It's that impressive?"

Inside the Black-level 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 voice fell, this eight-meter-tall mecha, with its supple lines and light, agile appearance, slowly increased the energy output of the thrusters on its feet and back. Light flared as it propelled the mecha forward.

Everyone quickly shut their mouths and followed the Captain, maintaining their patrol formation.

In Shrek City, the number one city on the Douluo Continent, there were a total of thirty patrol teams led by Black Mechas.

Even the capital of the Sun Moon Federation, Mingdu, could not compare to such a configuration.

This was because these thirty mecha patrol teams were built with funding from two of the continent's top soul master factions: Shrek Academy and the Spirit Pagoda.

Amidst the whistling wind, the Soul Guide Helicopter left the thousands of skyscrapers behind and entered a special mountainous forest area known as the Spirit Realm.

This place was under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Spirit Pagoda; even Shrek Academy did not have much authority to oversee it.

Everything originated in the Ancient Era. Years after the Spirit Ice Douluo Huo Yuhao proposed the plan to expand Shrek City, the Spirit Pagoda provided a great deal of assistance and, as a result, was granted a plot of land to develop on its own.

On the outskirts of the Spirit Spirit Realm, a faint yellow shimmer occasionally flickered, like an inverted bowl protecting the area. Its strength was sufficient to withstand the simultaneous bombardment of ten Level Eight Soul Guide Cannonballs.

If its functions were pushed to the limit, it could even hold out against three Level Nine Fixed Soul Guide Cannonballs.

During the day, the core array inside this Light Energy Shield would continuously absorb energy from the sun, requiring no manual recharging.

Typically, coastal cities with sufficient financial resources would have a weakened version of this Light Energy Shield, primarily to defend against the impact of typhoons.

A typical example would be the several cities on the eastern side of the Douluo Continent, led by Tianhai City.

Just as the Soul Guide Helicopter was two hundred meters away from the Light Energy Shield, several beams of light immediately swept out from the mountain. After verifying its identity, a ripple spread across the surface of the massive Light Energy Shield, and an entrance large enough for it to pass through opened instantly.

The Soul Guide Helicopter flew inside, heading straight toward a villa located halfway up the mountain before slowly descending onto a marked landing pad.

"Master, we have arrived."

A low voice rang out, interrupting the long-wandering thoughts of Qiangu Qingfeng.

He rubbed his brow and was about to stand up when, suddenly, a melodious and distant sound of a zither echoed in his ears. Its penetrating power was such that even the soundproofing shield of the Black Demon Soul Guide Helicopter could not block it.

His movements paused, and he sighed, "You Ming, what do you think I should do?"

Beside him, his humanoid spirit, permeated with a pitch-black glow, was stunned. Its eyes, where soul fire flickered, appeared somewhat bewildered: "I do not know, but I can apply the words you said back when you left the Qian Gu Family to travel the world alone: things have reached this point. I think that what must be faced, you must eventually face."

"Indeed," Qiangu Qingfeng sighed heavily, "I must face it."

His hands, capable of shattering mountain peaks, were trembling slightly at this moment.

Even back when he returned to the family to challenge his second brother—who was more trusted by the family—in front of every single family member, he had never felt this way.

Walking from the landing pad into the villa estate felt like stepping from the noisy human world into nature.

Qiangu Qingfeng lightened his footsteps as he walked into a bamboo forest.

In the center of the bamboo forest stood a pavilion. At this moment, a melodious breeze blew, rustling the bamboo and creating a soothing, friction-like sound.

But what brought even more peace to the mind was the sound of the zither that had merged with the wind.

Here, even the most volatile fire elements could not help but calm down.

Yet, the heart of Qiangu Qingfeng could not find peace. He gazed at the graceful figure sitting cross-legged inside the pavilion, his eyes flickering constantly.

Her jade hands brushed over the snow-white zither, and faint cold mist surged from between the fingers that plucked the strings. A faint smile graced the cold and elegant face of Xia Zheng Leng. As the world's foremost Sound Wave Soul Master, playing the zither had become a hobby integrated into her soul; moreover, playing was the best way for her to seek an opportunity for a breakthrough.

"Qing Feng, your heart is very chaotic," Xia Zheng Leng said, her eyes closed, her tone gentle.

Being sensed by his wife, Qiangu Qingfeng was not surprised; the two of them had long been in tune with each other's hearts.

"What is wrong with you?" Seeing that Qiangu Qingfeng remained silent, Xia Zheng Leng asked with a cold smile. Her fingers, which were plucking the strings, did not stop; under her control, the music grew increasingly gentle, as if it could wash away all worldly troubles.

Qiangu Qingfeng looked at his beloved wife, his expression complex. "A Nan and Yue Er... something has happened to them."

Xia Zheng Leng's fingers, which were plucking the strings, came to an abrupt halt.

The melodious music ceased instantly.

The air within the bamboo forest seemed to solidify.

Qiangu Qingfeng said in a deep voice, "Not long ago, Dong Feng discovered another unknown Small World on the Star Luo Continent. In order to find a way to save Liujing, A Nan and Yue Er rushed inside without waiting for a vanguard team to explore it. Sun Kong was worried about them, so he took a few people and followed them in."

"Inside, they discovered a small amount of Spirit Items beneficial to the soul, which gave them hope. However, because the spatial node connecting the Small World to the Douluo Plane suddenly became unstable and was likely to close within four hours, A Nan and Yue Er were worried that time was running out and decided to split up. As a result, while they were separated, they ran into Evil Soul Masters."

"After a fight to the death, they perished together."

He did not provide too many details, but the final sentence was exceptionally difficult to read aloud.

Xia Zheng Leng's breathing hitched sharply. Her tightly closed eyes opened, and deep within those pupils, which had been as still as stagnant water, a strange, eerie light flickered. In an instant, an invisible wave of musical soul power surged outward. The entire bamboo forest was instantly shredded as if by a thousand blades, appearing with countless cracks.

Qiangu Qingfeng reacted quickly, his powerful soul power rapidly surging outward, layering over the bamboo forest to prevent the area from being torn apart. He said in a deep voice, "A Nan and Yue Er still have a final trace of their souls remaining. They want to see Liujing one last time. Will you come with me? I will explain the details to you later."

Xia Zheng Leng closed her eyes in pain.

"Okay."

In the villa's main hall, Qiangu Qingfeng and Xia Zheng Leng stood side by side, staring silently for a long time at the two souls fading away before them.

When the two souls dissipated, Xia Zheng Leng seemed to lose all her strength. She collapsed back onto the sofa, distraught, and covered her face with her hands.

For the elderly to bury the young has always been the greatest of tragedies since ancient times.

Qiangu Qingfeng's eyes were also filled with grief, but his wife needed him more at this moment. Just as he was about to speak words of comfort, a subtle ripple suddenly stirred within his calm and tranquil Sea of Consciousness, as if something had triggered his senses.

He lowered his head to look at the Soul Guide Storage Ring on his finger, his gaze turning profound.

In a warmly decorated bedroom on the east side of the villa.

Lying on the soft bed was a little boy who looked to be five or six years old. Perhaps because he rarely saw the sun, his skin was very pale, shimmering with a faint, cold light.

He had remained in this comatose state for several months.

The breeze blowing in from the window gently stirred his soft, black hair, and everything appeared very peaceful.

But at that moment, a crack like a flash of lightning inexplicably appeared on one side of the room. The next instant, an object shaped like a bead emerged from within. Seemingly sensing a call between bloodlines, it flew rapidly onto the boy's body and, like cotton candy meeting hot water, quietly merged into him.

The pacing of this book is quite slow; I hope everyone will forgive me.