Shrek Reborn
One year later.
Shrek City ruins, below the central crater.
A gate that had been sealed for months was pushed open.
First, a sliver of grayish-white daylight peeked in from outside the door, followed by several heavy, steady footsteps echoing from the depths of darkness.
The wind blew in from outside, carrying the dampness from the ground after the rain.
That was the first time in months that they had breathed unfiltered air.
Yun Ming walked at the very front.
He wasn't wearing the old gray robe he'd worn underground; instead, he had changed into a dark blue long coat.
The hem of the garment was torn in several places and hadn't been mended.
He didn't seem to care.
His gaze swept across the ruins before him, calmly, as if he were looking at a battlefield he had been waiting for a long time.
Behind him, Ya Li, Long Yeyue, Cai Yue'er, Zhuo Shi, Feng Wuyu walked out one after another.
No one spoke.
Shrek City is gone.
The former streets, shops, dormitories, and canteens have all been reduced to ruins.
Further away, there was a huge crater so large that its edges were almost invisible.
That's what was left after Shrek Lake evaporated.
Several months later, the pit was filled with rainwater.
The water was dark in color, with a very faint sheen occasionally appearing on the surface.
A breeze blew up from the center of the pit, carrying an indescribable coolness.
"Let's go," Yun Ming said.
He took a step forward, and his entire body was already hurtling towards the large pit.
He no longer held back the aura of Level 99 Limit Douluo.
Soul Power surged from his body like a tidal wave, pressing the entire pit surface downwards.
Immediately afterwards, Ya Li, Long Yeyue, Cai Yue'er, Zhuo Shi, Feng Wuyu leaped up from different directions at the same time.
The Battle Armor wasn't fully activated, but the Martial Soul had been completely unleashed.
Six beams of light of different colors shot into the sky from them, like five pillars reaching to the heavens, scattering the clouds above Shrek.
Yun Ming stopped above the center of the pit.
He then took something out of his Storage Soul Tool.
The thing was pitch black, taller than a person, and shaped like an extremely long metal cone, its surface engraved with silver soul-guiding patterns.
These are things that Yun Jingheng left for the Sea God Pavilion.
They have no names, only numbers.
He said at the time, "When you come out from underground, put it back into the original pit at Shrek Lake. It will draw up the radiation and remnants of the Abyss that have been deposited below. Only after it's cleaned up can this land be used."
Yun Ming gripped the metal cone and plummeted straight into the center of the pit.
The moment it entered the water, the entire pit lit up.
Black waves surged outwards from the center.
The metal cone sank to the bottom of the water, and three breaths later, a very low and deep vibration came from the bottom of the pit.
Immediately afterwards, concentric rings of silver-blue light rose from the bottom of the water.
The water level is changing.
Those dark, blackish colors are being forced towards the heart of the pit by the light patterns, bit by bit.
It looked like the entire pit of water had been washed clean.
"Begin." Yun Ming landed at the edge of the pit and said softly.
Ya Li and the others stood scattered along the edge of the pit, each channeling a burst of Soul Power into the water.
The five streams of Soul Power were connected to the device at the bottom of the pit.
The entire crater looked as if it had been illuminated from the ground.
The water is boiling, but there is no steam.
A grayish-black fog rose from the water's surface.
The gray-black fog rose higher and higher, gathering and dispersing above the water's surface, only to gather again.
Yun Ming raised his right hand and pressed it down, forcibly pushing the gray mist towards the center of the pit.
At the same moment, Ya Li, Long Yeyue, Cai Yue'er, Zhuo Shi, Feng Wuyu also increased their efforts.
Six beams of light pierced straight into the water, illuminating the entire pit.
The water began to separate into layers, with the top layer becoming clearer and clearer, while the water became increasingly darker as you went down.
The black material was being drawn towards the metal cone little by little.
The silver patterns on the cone shone brightly, and everyone could feel the ruins beneath their feet trembling.
Then, a long "humming" sound came from the bottom of the pit.
The metal cone was spinning at high speed, and the lake water was becoming clear.
Zhuo Shi shouted towards the shelter, "Changkong! We can begin!"
Before anyone could respond to Zhuo Shi Shi's cry, commotion was heard coming from the direction of the shelter.
Two old iron doors, half-covered by sand, were pushed open from the inside.
Immediately afterwards, a group of people came out from inside.
They were completely covered in gray-white protective suits, their faces obscured, with only their eyes visible from under their helmets.
Each person carried an extremely heavy metal device on their back. The device's outer shell had an old bronze patina, and each of its four corners was inlaid with a small lamp that flashed red and blue alternately.
They trudged through the mud and gravel to reach the ground.
No one spoke.
That door was like a gaping mouth, spitting them out in droves.
More and more.
In the end, they were too numerous to count, and soon they dispersed.
It was scattered towards the outermost perimeter of the Shrek City ruins.
Everyone was running. Once they reached the outer perimeter, they chose a spot, removed the metal devices from their backs, and laid them flat.
The device has eight short stakes at the bottom, which pop out on their own as soon as they hit the ground and firmly embed themselves in the soil.
They then pulled out the control lever from the side and pressed it on top.
With a very soft "click," the top of the device opened up, splitting into four petals like a flower.
A very thin metal rod rises from the middle of the four petals, ascending higher and higher until it stops at about five zhang (approximately 10 meters).
A very faint blue light shone from the top of the pole.
"All 160 stations in the eastern section, start them all!" Tang Yinmeng's voice came through the communicator.
"One hundred and seventy units in the western section have been placed! They are being stacked!" Lan Muzi reported immediately.
Those tower-like structures were erected one after another.
They were spaced evenly apart, and blue lights flickered on and off at their tops. In no time, the entire perimeter of Shrek Old Town was illuminated by a very faint blue band of light.
"Buzz--"
The first tower sounded.
Then the second one, and the third one.
Soon, the entire ring of towers began to tremble very slightly and gently.
The soil at the base of the tower began to lighten in color.
Some grayish-purple spots emerged from the soil, then quickly faded away.
That's radiation.
These devices are gradually extracting radiation from the surface and shallow soil layers.
"Not deep enough." Cai Yue'er stood at the edge of the pit, staring at the monitoring data in her hand.
She turned to the several Sea God Pavilion deacons behind her and said, "Adjust the device down by half a foot. The second group advances from the south section, sweeps through the inner layer as well, and has all the storage tanks removed."
"Yes." The men immediately accepted the order and ran off in different directions.
More people in protective suits emerged from the shelter.
They no longer carry towers on their shoulders, but smaller detectors.
As the people walked into the ruins, occasionally a sharp beep would come from an instrument, and someone would pour a small pinch of silver powder into it.
As soon as the powder landed, the grayish-purple color in the soil quickly dissipated.
Wu Zhangkong stood at the entrance of the shelter, motionless.
He was wearing ordinary protective clothing, but no helmet, and his face was pale from the sunlight.
He gazed at the rising blue light towers and remained silent for a long time.
Those towers were built from blueprints under his personal supervision.
When Yun Jingheng sent the design drawings back, he had annotated almost every key detail.
Wu Zhangkong didn't understand those things, but he knew that the child knew better than anyone else that Shrek City was still alive.
He was clearing away the dead skin of Shrek City, allowing the soil beneath to grow grass, flow water, and be used to lay new foundations.
The wind blowing through the blue light towers no longer smelled so strong.
It carries a damp, earthy scent.
Shen Yi slowly walked to Wu Zhangkong's side and also looked at the circle of blue light.
She didn't speak. Wu Zhangkong Changkong glanced at her and whispered, "If the Pavilion Master saw this, what would he say?"
Shen Yi thought for a moment and said, "They'll probably say, 'The argument is correct.'"
She paused for a moment, then added, "And then they'll complain that we're too slow."
Wu Zhangkong chuckled very softly.