Long Time No See, A Thousand Years in a Single Glance

Shrek City is located on the central Lima Plain of the continent, with a view of the Star Dou Great Forest.

The city's population exceeds two million, surpassing one-third of the federal capital in both area and population, making it the undisputed largest city on the Douluo Continent.

The internal powers are even more complex, with super-major forces such as Shrek Academy, Spirit Pagoda Headquarters, and Tang Sect Headquarters all stationed within.

Shrek City's architectural style is also extremely inclusive. Although it is dominated by soul tool technology, it also incorporates traditional ancient elements from the three great empires.

An aerial soul tool flew in from the East Sea Coast, descending from the clouds to the Lima Plain, and then vanished into thin air...

Immediately after, a stream of white and gold light transformed into a fleeting shadow, soaring towards the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda in the eastern part of Shrek City.

At this moment, in the Vice Tower Master's office.

"Arrange half a day of free time for me. I want to meet this Xu Zijing personally."

"Purple Imperial Heaven-Extinguishing Dragon, a divine martial soul said to govern destruction."

"I hope it's not too different from what's recorded in the history books."

The red-haired woman, known as the Vice Tower Master, Heavenly Phoenix Douluo Leng Yaozhu, said with great interest and a smile.

However, after two seconds of silence, the female assistant replied, "Reporting to Vice Tower Master, the envoy who delivered the secret letter left a message saying that the candidate for the targeted training quota has departed and will arrive by this afternoon at the latest."

"I assumed you wouldn't agree, so I didn't reply."

"Oh?" The red-haired woman raised her eyebrows and said with a "Hoo" sound, "They report after acting. It seems they are very confident that I will accept this Xu Zijing."

Suddenly, the female assistant's soul tool communicator on her lower back vibrated.

She immediately answered and reported, "Vice Tower Master, a message from the first-floor entrance registration desk states that a young man named Long Zijin, carrying a letter of introduction from Councilor Xu, is waiting for you downstairs."

"So fast." Leng Yaozhu felt unprepared, but she still got up and rushed out of the office.

Walking into the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda, the view immediately opened up.

This was a hall covering an area of several thousand meters.

Guided by staff, Long Zijin moved deeper into the hall.

He scanned the surrounding light gates, the counters, and followed the dozens of meters tall, thick stone pillars, looking up at the mural on the dome of the hall...

Even though he had glimpsed the interior of the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda countless times through the Xu Clan's genetic memory, upon actually entering the place, he couldn't help but admire the paintings, which were completely different from the rough style of the dragon race.

In the very center of the dome was recorded the epic of the first Tower Master, Spirit Ice Douluo: leading human Soul Masters to fight against beast tides, defeating the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, and finally disappearing into the sky...

Long Zijin immediately became interested and turned to say, "Hey, Old Di, look at your son Xiao Tian, he's being brushed aside as an assessment step."

The Holy Dragon King's face twitched, he opened his mouth, wanting to speak but stopping...

Finally, the two were led into a private waiting room.

Di Guangming couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, why did you choose Leng Yaozhu? In this Shrek City, there are clearly easier targets for us to suppress..."

Long Zijin's expression changed. He put away the curious baby's playful demeanor from before entering the lounge and resumed the solemnity and majesty befitting a Dragon Emperor.

His tone was slightly somber as he said, "We old era remnants... before the cosmic laws were changed, all have left legacies in this world. And on the Douluo Plane, our legacies exist in the form of martial souls."

"Take me as an example, the Purple Imperial Heaven-Extinguishing Dragon martial soul."

"As everyone knows, all continents on the Douluo Plane are in a state of continuous and slow drift, and the Dragon Tomb world where we are buried is no exception."

"Moreover, the spatial boundaries of the Dragon Tomb are extremely unstable and constantly drift above the Douluo Plane. Coincidentally, tens of thousands of years ago, when it drifted over the Sun Moon Continent, I happened to awaken underground once."

"So, I infiltrated a drop of legacy through the boundary wall, landed it on the Sun Moon Continent, enlightened a group of humans and beasts, thereby bestowing the Purple Imperial Heaven-Extinguishing Dragon martial soul upon the Xu family, which has been passed down to this day."

"As for you, Old Di, and your wife, leaving behind the Light and Dark Sacred Dragons on this plane, I don't need to mention it. You can sense it yourself."

The Holy Dragon King nodded.

The Dragon Emperor continued with emotion, "Recently, even the Mountain Dragon has left a legacy on the Star Luo Continent, let alone the Phoenix and Tiger King, who are stronger than your nine sons and are on the same level as me?"

The Holy Dragon King understood and suddenly realized, "With Your Majesty's enlightenment, this humble king understands. You mean Leng Yaozhu is the legacy of Senior Phoenix in this world?"

"Consider it a small part," the Dragon Emperor nodded with his eyes closed, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

In the old era, he and the Phoenix God King, one in charge of destruction and the other in charge of creation.

The Dragon Emperor and the Phoenix: they blessed each other, were close friends, and jointly maintained the balance of the entire universe's laws. What a beautiful myth that was.

At that time, creation and destruction were balanced in the universe. There was no overpopulation of civilizations, nor sudden decline. Everything was thriving.

It's just a pity that all of this was brought about by a Nine-Colored Dragon leading nine adopted sons, colluding with a Gold-Black Evil Tiger...

Therefore, every time the Phoenix God King is mentioned, the Dragon Emperor can't help but smile.

But when he recalled it, he was always filled with emotion and infinite regret.

Suddenly, a "click, click" sound echoed on the floor outside the door, and respectful titles like "Vice Tower Master" and "Your Excellency Heavenly Phoenix" could be faintly heard.

"Perhaps I'm just thinking of the Phoenix," the Dragon Emperor opened his eyes.

His Golden Pupils were already filled with reminiscence.

Just then, the door to the lounge opened with a "click."

Leng Yaozhu's ruby-like eyes met Long Zijin's Golden Pupils.

Noticing the look of reminiscence in his eyes—a depth of emotion that did not belong to his current age—Leng Yaozhu froze in place, her hand still resting on the door handle.

Long Zijin, however, could not help but smile and softly call out, "Long time no see."

Leng Yaozhu was stunned, then dazed.

She had imagined many ways this opening might go, but she had never expected the first words out of his mouth to be a "greeting" of this nature.

She was certain she had never met this child, who appeared to be eleven or twelve but was actually only nine; even if they had met when he was a three-year-old toddler, she would have absolutely remembered him.

Because this youth was far too beautiful, the kind of level that one would remember for a hundred years after a single glance.

Leng Yaozhu did not even dare to use low-tier phrases like "stunning as a celestial" to describe a beauty that transcended gender and species, as if she were gazing upon a field of flowers that would never wither or fade.

The moment her gaze touched his face, she began to wonder: was this exactly how the supreme deities of the continent's poetry were meant to look?

Yet, when she met those Golden Pupils of his, a strange sense of familiarity stirred within her Heavenly Phoenix Martial Soul.

Leng Yaozhu was not even aware that a phantom of a Phoenix had emerged within her own eyes.

Is this what it means to see someone for a moment and feel as though a lifetime has passed?

No, perhaps it had been millions, tens of millions of years since they last met, and she had finally waited for this single glance.

Following that, a sentence she did not truly mean slipped from Leng Yaozhu's tongue: "Yes, it is."

"Long time no see."