No Favoritism

Ming Capital, Federal Parliament.

The atmosphere in White Stone Square in front of the Parliament Building was as tense as a bowstring taut.

Chen Xinjie and Guan Yue stood at the front, with the seventeen War Gods lined up on both sides.

He wasn't wearing Battle Armor, but his Martial Soul had already been fully unleashed.

A red and black intertwined Soul Ring rose up, illuminating the entire plaza with an ever-changing light.

The wind swept down the parliament steps, making several Federation flags flutter.

Yun Jingheng led Gu Yuena along the Central Axis Avenue, and he saw the group of people from afar.

Not one was missing; Chen Xinjie stood atop the steps.

Yun Jingheng sighed, turned to Gu Yuena and said, "See, I told you they were here to wish me a Happy New Year in advance."

Gu Yuena glanced ahead and said calmly, "Why don't we activate our Martial Soul and fight our way in?"

Yun Jingheng choked and coughed.

The two stopped at the edge of the square.

Chen Xinjie didn't move. Guan Yue narrowed her eyes, as if trying to see through the smile on Yun Jingheng's face.

Yun Jingheng released Gu Yuena's hand, took two steps forward, and said lazily, "Everyone, was it a pity we couldn't play yesterday? Want to start over today?"

No one answered.

The Soul Power of the seventeen war gods actually increased by one point.

Yun Jingheng clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Alright, put it away. I came here to get things, not to demolish the building. If you keep doing this, when I go in, the council members will think I wiped out the War God Temple."

Guan Yue finally spoke up, "Jing Heng, it's not that you can't enter the council, but you can't just swagger in through the main gate with the Spirit Pagoda Master."

Yun Jingheng raised an eyebrow. "Who I bring is none of your business."

Guan Yue said, "I'm afraid that if you slam your hand on the table later, you'll scare half the people inside to death."

Yun Jingheng laughed, "Whether I take pictures or not depends on whether they know how to talk."

He turned around and reached out his hand to Gu Yuena.

Gu Yuena put it back on.

The two of them walked towards the seventeen war gods step by step in front of them.

Chen Xinjie's eyebrows twitched violently. "Yun Jingheng! What exactly are you trying to do?!"

Yun Jingheng neither dodged nor stopped.

He led Gu Yuena step by step to the center of the square, standing between the seventeen war gods and the Parliament Building.

The wind whipped his clothes inside out.

He raised his head, looked at Chen Xinjie, and then glanced at the seventeen tense faces.

He smiled slightly, and spoke slowly and deliberately, each word as clear and bright as if polished by moonlight:

"I want to rebuild Shrek City."

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried extremely far throughout the entire square.

On the steps of the parliament, several members of parliament who had come out upon hearing the news stood by the door, their faces ashen, as if they had been slapped on the back.

Yun Jingheng continued, "I want it to stand on the mainland again, bigger and harder to topple than before."

Chen Xinjie opened his mouth.

He wanted to say, "This isn't something you can decide," but the words stuck in his throat.

Yun Jingheng's gaze was too steady; he had already brought a trump card that could overturn the table.

Gu Yuena stood beside him, her purple eyes calm as the sea.

Yun Jingheng tilted his head and looked at the Parliament Building as if he were looking at an old palace that was half empty.

He said, "In the past, we didn't die, but you didn't want to admit it. Now that Shrek has returned on its own, you can continue to pretend you didn't see it, or you can come and talk. I won't force you."

As darkness fell, the Ming Capital spread throughout the capital.

It's said that the Federal Parliament approved some kind of "Shrek City Reconstruction Filing," and it was expedited.

In the teahouse, an old man shook the lid off his cup. "Shrek City... wasn't it long gone?"

The young man next to him said, "They came back to rebuild it."

The old man exclaimed, his eyes welling up with tears, "That's wonderful! That's truly wonderful. When I was young, on my way to take the imperial examinations, I even shared a bowl of porridge with them by the city wall."

He wiped his face and didn't say anything more, but everyone in the teahouse was talking.

They talked about the Pavilion Master, the Tower Master, how the seventeen Titled Douluo made way for them, and how the door opened.

No one was actually in parliament, but everyone acted as if they had watched the whole thing.

The following day, a notice was issued from the Federation: the area extending 30 kilometers outward from the current Shrek Academy area shall be designated as Shrek Outer City. Shops and businesses that need to establish a foothold in Shrek City shall proceed to Ming Capital as soon as possible to sign an agreement.

At the same time, both the Spirit Pagoda and the Tang Sect issued announcements stating that they would establish their headquarters in Shrek City.

The merchants of Ming Capital were the first to act, and before noon, long queues had already formed outside the offices where agreements were to be signed.

There were owners of old shops, new merchants who had fled from the outer city, and young people who dared to ask about prices with just a few bags of money in their hands.

They don't believe in the Federation, they believe in Shrek; those three words carry more weight than any stamped document at the moment.

But in Shrek City, it was a completely different story.

Before dawn, a convoy appeared on the mountain road to the north; it was the Tang Sect's vehicle.

They escorted a large amount of materials and drove along the newly paved main road to the gates of Shrek Academy.

Around noon, another convoy of Spirit Pagoda vehicles arrived.

Yun Ming remained silent.

He stood on the Sea God Lake, watching the fine ripples on the lake's surface stirred by the wind.

The water had already flooded most of the bank, and the wooden railings on the shore were newly nailed and still smelled of pine.

Ya Li walked up to him at some point and said, "The Spirit Pagoda and the Tang Sect are both coming. Shrek City has no choice but to build it."

Yun Ming hummed in agreement. "The child has grown up."

Ya Li didn't say anything more.

In the afternoon, Yun Jingheng headed north alone.

He flew slowly, as if letting the wind and sunlight disperse some of the chaos of the past few days.

Half-Sweet Coffee whispered in his ear, "Master, the Federation's announcement, the Tang Sect, and the Spirit Pagoda's announcement have all been issued. Shrek City will soon reappear."

Yun Jingheng hummed in agreement, gazing at the approaching dark green expanse ahead. Shrek City was right there.

So what should we do next...?

Xing Lan can't make me kneel on durians, can she?

Before Yun Jingheng even landed on the ground, he saw Ye Xinglan standing at the door.

She wasn't there to ambush him.

She was holding a newly delivered roll of window screen in her arms, talking to Tang Yinmeng.

The evening breeze blew from the direction of Sea God Lake, lifting her hair and the thin veil at the same time.

As if sensing something, she suddenly looked up and glanced in Yun Jingheng's direction.

Just one glance.

Then she looked away and continued talking to Tang Yinmeng, as if she hadn't seen him return from Ming Capital at all.

Yun Jingheng felt even more uneasy.

He landed outside the door, dusted off his clothes, and slowly walked over.

Xie Xie suddenly appeared out of nowhere and said in a tone that seemed to enjoy watching a good show, "Hey, isn't this Yue Shen Douluo? Was the moon bright in Ming Capital last night?"

Yun Jingheng glanced at him. "If you say another word, you'll be guarding the Blue Light Tower tonight."

Xie Xie immediately shut up and retreated behind Xu Xiaoyan.

Xu Xiaoyan whispered, "Serves him right."

Tang Wulin also arrived.

He stood by the roadside, smiled and nodded at Yun Jingheng, without saying anything else.

Yun Jingheng walked behind Ye Xinglan and stopped.

He coughed.

Ye Xinglan did not turn around.

Tang Yinmeng was quite sensible; she took the window screen from her hands and said, "I'll take it to the workshop first."

After saying that, he winked at Yun Jingheng, his eyes clearly saying, "Good luck to you."

Only the two of them remained at the door.

Ye Xinglan patted off imaginary dust from her sleeve and turned around.

Before she could speak, Yun Jingheng said, "I'm back."

Ye Xinglan hummed in agreement.

Yun Jingheng said, "Gu Yue will come again in a couple of days. The files for the Spirit Pagoda and the Tang Sect headquarters have already been sent out."

Ye Xinglan hummed in agreement again.

Yun Jingheng finally couldn't hold back any longer and lowered his voice. "Xing Lan, just give me a quick death, don't do this."

Ye Xinglan looked up at him.

He stood ramrod straight, as if waiting to be tortured.

After watching for a while, she suddenly said, "Don't you think I should be angry?"

Yun Jingheng was taken aback.

Ye Xinglan looked at him and slowly said, "I should be angry, but I really can't bring myself to be angry."

She paused, then said, "On the nights you weren't here, I thought about it. Gu Yue isn't just anyone; she's been standing by your side for a long time. I'm not blind. I don't think it's necessary for me to make a fuss about this."

Yun Jingheng's throat tightened.

He took a step forward, wanting to hug her.

Ye Xinglan raised her hand and placed it against his chest, preventing him from hugging her.

She said, "But I have one condition."

Yun Jingheng immediately stopped. "You speak."

Ye Xinglan said, "You are not allowed to show favoritism towards either me or her."

Yun Jingheng nodded. "I promise."

Ye Xinglan looked at him for a while before withdrawing her hand.

She whispered, "I waited for you to come back so I could see if you were covered in blood again."

Yun Jingheng felt as if something had clenched his heart.

He stepped forward and pulled her into his arms, and Ye Xinglan didn't push him away anymore.

She leaned against his chest, her voice soft. "This is the last time."

Yun Jingheng said, "Okay. This won't happen again."