A few days later, Shrek City.
When the private plane landed at the military airport on the outskirts, Luo Yang saw the legendary city through the cabin window for the first time.
It was a metropolis caught between history and reality.
Ancient bluestone streets coexisted with holographic billboards, while hundred-meter-tall Soul Tool skyscrapers stood beside traditional buildings with sweeping eaves and upturned corners.
In the streets and alleys, elderly people strolled leisurely with Soul Beast cubs on leashes, while patrols drove by in mechs.
The green Shrek monster emblem was clearly visible on the mechs' chests.
"The Shrek Self-Defense Army." Blood Eight pointed at a squad of black mechs passing outside the window. "A hundred thousand troops, all Soul Kings or above. This is what gives Shrek the nerve to challenge the Federation."
Luo Yang nodded, though his gaze was somewhat cold.
In the original story, when that God-Slaying Soul Tool Shell fell a few years later, this so-called "source of confidence" had failed to protect the city.
A million lives were laid to waste, and all its glory was reduced to scorched earth.
"They brought it on themselves," he said softly.
Blood Eight turned her head toward him. "What did you say?"
"Nothing." Luo Yang looked away. "I just think it's... pretty hypocritical to have an independent armed force like this while constantly shouting that you're neutral and don't interfere in politics."
Calling it a self-defense army was a joke. It was clearly an elite legion capable of overthrowing a small nation.
And that was without even mentioning how many members of the Federal Council had come from Shrek and were influenced by it, openly or behind the scenes. In the eyes of many ordinary people, Shrek Academy even had more prestige than the Federation.
A behemoth towering above the national system like this was a thorn in the side that had to be removed, no matter how you looked at it.
Blood Eight was silent for a moment, then sighed. "You can say that in the legion, but watch your words in Shrek territory."
As their car entered the city center, the Spirit Pagoda gradually came into view.
It was a true tower in every sense of the word.
Its platinum-white structure soared into the clouds, seeming to be cloaked in divine light beneath the afternoon sun. Its base covered square kilometers, and every hundred meters, a ring-shaped platform circled the tower, equipped with Defensive Soul Tools.
Even the spire disappeared into the clouds. Only the flicker of Soul Power ripples at its tip could be glimpsed.
"Seeing this takes me back." Blood Eight gazed up at the tower, a rare trace of nostalgia on her cold, beautiful face. "I used to come here all the time to challenge the Spirit Ascension Platform, hone my combat skills, and earn contribution points to exchange for resources."
Luo Yang was also awestruck.
This was the richest organization on the continent, bar none. It monopolized the business of creating and selling Soul Spirits, and its wealth was probably equivalent to that of hundreds of Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sects at their peak.
After all, Soul Masters were the foundation of the continent, and the Spirit Pagoda had long since spread across the land, reaching every corner where Soul Masters could be found.
The Soul Spirit System created by Huo Yuhao and Electrolux had indeed benefited future generations, but it had also given rise to a behemoth like this...
Luo Yang sighed inwardly.
He wondered whether Electrolux would feel comforted or disappointed if he saw the Spirit Pagoda as it was today.
He was all the more eager to gather enough Undead Power and bring the Holy Necromancer back to life as soon as possible.
Because of the plot's machinations, Electrolux had fallen too early, leaving Huo Yuhao with an incomplete legacy.
If he could return to the world, his aid—whether through necromancy or in other fields—would be beyond measure.
Lost in thought, the two of them headed toward the Spirit Pagoda's main entrance.
"Where'd these country bumpkins come from? Don't block the entrance to the Spirit Pagoda!"
But at that moment, an ear-piercing voice interrupted their thoughts.
A middle-aged man with a hooked nose, dressed in a Spirit Pagoda uniform, blocked the entrance and sized them up as if they were garbage.
His words drew glances from several people nearby.
To be fair, Luo Yang and Blood Eight were wearing the legion's standard-issue civilian clothes, which did make them stand out. But they were a far cry from looking like beggars.
The middle-aged man was simply looking down on them, or perhaps he was in a bad mood and taking it out on someone else.
Luo Yang frowned slightly.
Even a Spirit Pagoda employee stationed at the entrance felt so superior to everyone else. That alone said a lot about the place's culture.
Blood Eight's beautiful eyes instantly turned cold.
She was the Blood God, who had fought with her life on the line at the Abyss front line to protect everything—including people like these. And now she was being humiliated like this.
But before she could react, a cool female voice came from inside the tower:
"When did my guests become fair game for you to judge?"
The crisp, rhythmic click of high heels on the marble floor rang out.
The crowd parted of its own accord.
A fiery red dress came into view first.
Then came long, slender legs, a slim waist, and wine-red hair cascading down her back.
When her face was fully revealed, gasps rose from the crowd.
Leng Yaozhu.
Vice Pagoda Master of the Spirit Pagoda, the Heavenly Phoenix Douluo.
The red dress radiated an imposing presence. When her crimson eyes swept over the crowd, the air itself seemed to drop several degrees.
The Heavenly Phoenix Pagoda Master?!
The hooked-nosed man's face instantly turned deathly pale.
"H-Heavenly Phoenix, Your Excellency, I-I didn't know these were your guests..."
"Now you do?" Leng Yaozhu's voice was soft, but it scraped at the man's eardrums like a blade.
"I do! I do!" The man nodded frantically, then turned and bowed ninety degrees to Luo Yang and Blood Eight. "Honored guests, I was blind to your worth! I was completely in the wrong! Please, be the bigger people—"
He had been overbearing before and obsequious afterward. The thought of it was enough to make one laugh.
Luo Yang remained expressionless.
"If an apology were enough..." Blood Eight sneered.
"I deserve to die! I really know I was wrong!" The middle-aged man's legs buckled, and he nearly fell to his knees.
"Take him to settle his resignation." Leng Yaozhu cut him off, then addressed the Blue-Eyed Twins, who had followed her out. "Permanently blacklist him from the Spirit Pagoda and all affiliated enterprises."
"Yes," Bai Haoze replied.
At her words, the middle-aged man collapsed completely to the ground, his face ashen.
In Shrek City, being permanently blacklisted throughout the Spirit Pagoda system was practically tantamount to ruining most of his prospects.
Bai Haoze motioned for two security officers to drag him away, then kept well clear himself, evidently not wanting to get dirty.
After dealing with the interruption, Leng Yaozhu turned to Luo Yang and Blood Eight, the frost on her face melting into an apologetic expression.
"Sorry for the trouble. I hope you'll forgive us."
Blood Eight furrowed her brows. "Heavenly Phoenix Pagoda Master, I don't want to see this happen again. Otherwise, the legion won't feel comfortable leaving Luo Yang in your care."
"I promise." Leng Yaozhu answered solemnly, then let her gaze fall on Luo Yang.
In that instant, Luo Yang felt her expression change.
She wasn't looking at him like a stranger's child. It was as if she were looking through him at someone else, her gaze filled with fond remembrance and sorrow, along with a trace of guilt that was difficult to detect.
"You must be Luo Yang," she said softly, then did something that surprised everyone.
She crouched down, opened her arms, and pulled Luo Yang into an embrace.
It was gentle, yet tight.
Luo Yang froze.
It wasn't the embrace that had stunned him, but the aura coming from Leng Yaozhu.
She had a very distinctive scent, a mixture of faint incense and the charred smell left in the air after flames had burned.
Then there was the heat of her body, seeping through the thin fabric of her clothes. It was scorching.
"Your eyes..." Leng Yaozhu let go of him, cradled his face in both hands, and gazed deeply into his eyes with her crimson ones. "They're exactly like your mother's. For a moment just now, I thought she had come back."
Luo Yang didn't know what to say.
Leng Yaozhu and his parents had indeed been close. But exactly how close, he still didn't know.
"From now on, you can settle in here without worry." Leng Yaozhu stood up and took his hand. "Just call me Aunt Leng."
"Aunt Leng," Luo Yang obediently said.
Leng Yaozhu smiled.
The coldness in her crimson eyes melted completely into a warm, tender light.
"Such a good boy." She ruffled his hair again, then turned to Blood Eight. "Blood Eight, thanks for the effort. You escorted him all this way."
Blood Eight shook her head, but her gaze remained fixed on the hand Leng Yaozhu was holding.
She felt a little sour inside.
It was like growing a cabbage with her own hands, tending to it for six years until it was finally fresh and plump—only to have to hand it over, pot and all, to someone else.
She knew it was for the cabbage's own good, but still... it didn't feel good.
"Let's go inside instead of standing here at the entrance." Holding Luo Yang's hand, Leng Yaozhu smiled and gestured to Blood Eight. "I've taken care of everything."
The three of them entered the Spirit Pagoda.