Chapter 19

"Don't take today's events too much to heart."

Leng Yaozhu led Luo Yang out of the testing area.

"Qiangu Zhangting was reprimanded by his grandfather in public; he shouldn't dare to trouble you again in the short term."

Luo Yang nodded, though he didn't think so in his heart.

A dog cannot change its habit of eating excrement.

Some people don't learn their lesson from a single scolding.

You have to beat them until they are terrified, until they tremble at the mere sight of your shadow, for them to truly understand the meaning of awe.

Qiangu Zhangting clearly belonged to the latter category.

"Let's go, I'll take you to see where you'll be living." Leng Yaozhu ruffled his hair.

The three of them stepped into a private elevator engraved with phoenix patterns.

Blood Eight stood by Luo Yang's side, her gaze sweeping over the floor buttons on the control panel that only high-level personnel could trigger.

"The top floor is my living and office area, and it's also where you'll be staying from now on." Leng Yaozhu pressed the button for the highest floor. "The middle floors are the research area, the Spirit Soul cultivation center, and the Spirit Beast breeding grounds."

"As for the underground..."

She paused. "There are thirty levels. There are some areas you must not approach without my permission."

The elevator began to ascend.

Through the curved glass curtain wall, they could see researchers operating precision soul-guiding instruments, technicians debugging artificial Spirit Souls, and an entire floor dedicated to a simulated ecological zone where precious Spirit Beast cubs were being raised.

"People from Qiangu Dongfeng?" Blood Eight suddenly asked.

The smile on Leng Yaozhu's face faded slightly. "You know quite a lot."

"The Blood God Legion has an intelligence network," Blood Eight said indifferently. "The Qiangu Family has been making big moves these past few years."

The elevator stopped at the top floor.

The moment the doors opened, Luo Yang held his breath.

This wasn't a "room," but an "aerial garden" suspended in the clouds.

Under a glass dome nearly twenty meters high, there were rockeries, flowing water, small bridges over lotus ponds, and blooming phoenix flower trees.

Sunlight spilled through the glass, shattering into shimmering gold on the water's surface. Most astonishing of all was the center of the courtyard, where a mass of eternal crimson flame hovered, with the faint phantom of a phoenix circling within it.

"This is the origin of my Martial Soul," Leng Yaozhu explained. "Cultivating fire-attribute techniques here yields twice the result with half the effort."

She led Luo Yang through the courtyard and finally stopped in front of a carved rosewood door.

"Your room."

He pushed the door open.

The room was larger than he had imagined, yet the layout was minimalist—a wide bed, a solid wood desk, and a floor-to-ceiling wardrobe. However, the window faced the Phoenix True Flame in the center of the courtyard, offering a view so expansive that one could overlook most of Shrek City. On the desk, several books were neatly arranged: Introduction to Soul Power Fundamentals, Essence of Martial Soul Taxonomy, and A Brief History of the Spirit Pagoda.

"Thank you, Aunt Leng," Luo Yang said sincerely.

Leng Yaozhu touched his head again, her eyes as gentle as if she were looking at her own child.

Blood Eight stood at the doorway, watching this scene, and that familiar sour ache welled up in her heart again.

She suddenly remembered six years ago, the moment she first picked that swaddled infant up from the ruins of the battlefield.

So small, so soft, crying with a thin, reedy voice like a kitten that had just opened its eyes.

She had clumsily learned to change diapers, mix formula, and soothe him to sleep.

When he first called her "Aunt Eight," she was so excited she didn't sleep all night.

In the blink of an eye, the child could run, talk, and cultivate.

Now... he was leaving her.

"Luo Yang," Blood Eight spoke, her voice somewhat hoarse. "Listen to Aunt Leng in this new environment. But if you are ever wronged, contact me at any time. The Blood God Legion... will always be your backing."

These words were meant for Luo Yang, but even more so for Leng Yaozhu.

Leng Yaozhu understood.

She walked over to Blood Eight, her crimson eyes staring directly into the other woman's, her voice light yet solemn: "I will protect him well. I swear it in the name of the Leng Family and by the dignity of the Heavenly Phoenix Douluo."

The two stared at each other for a long time.

Finally, Blood Eight nodded.

"Then I should go," she said. "There are still missions waiting at the Legion."

She crouched down to embrace Luo Yang one last time.

It was a tight embrace, so tight that Luo Yang could hear the rapid beating of her heart against her chest.

"Grow up well," Blood Eight whispered in his ear, her voice trembling heavily. "When you have time... come back and visit."

Luo Yang felt a warm, damp sensation on his neck.

He reached out and hugged her back.

"I will, Aunt Eight."

Blood Eight let go of him, stood up, and walked toward the elevator without looking back.

Her back was held straight, like a sword that would never bend.

The moment the door closed, Luo Yang saw her raise her hand and quickly wipe her eyes.

Leng Yaozhu gently put an arm around his shoulder.

"She treats you like family," she said softly. "People in the Blood God Legion are all like this. Once they acknowledge someone, it's for a lifetime."

Luo Yang didn't speak, just stared at the tightly shut metal door.

Somewhere in his heart, a piece felt empty.

At the same time, in the Spirit Pagoda Master's office.

"Grandfather! Why didn't you strike?!"

The moment the door closed, Qiangu Zhangting couldn't help but growl.

The slap mark still lingered on his face, burning with pain, but the humiliation in his heart hurt even more.

"Your grandson almost died at the hands of that beast! And you just let them leave like that?!"

Qiangu Dongfeng stood with his back to him, looking down at the night view of Shrek City from the floor-to-ceiling window.

After a long while, he slowly turned around.

"I have warned you so many times," his voice was calm, so calm it was chilling, "to understand the situation and to restrain your temper."

"I was almost killed! How do you expect me to restrain myself?!" Qiangu Zhangting's eyes were bloodshot. "And that so-called Blood God Legion, some unheard-of backwater force, what is there to be afraid of?! Have you grown old and cowardly, Grandfather?!"

Qiangu Dongfeng's gaze turned cold.

"If it were truly a backwater force," he walked slowly to the desk and tapped his fingers lightly on the surface, "do you think... I would be afraid?"

Qiangu Zhangting was stunned.

Thinking about it carefully, that was true.

Who had his grandfather ever feared in his life? When the Federation President came, he gave them some face at most; even when the War God Temple Master arrived in person, they spoke as equals.

There was no reason for him to act so cowardly just upon hearing the words "Blood God Legion."

"The Blood God Legion is very special."

Qiangu Dongfeng sat down and poured himself a cup of tea.

"It does not belong to the Federation, nor is it even under the Federation's jurisdiction. Its base is located deep within the Endless Mountain Range."

"The Endless Mountain Range?" Qiangu Zhangting frowned. "That wasteland covered in ice and snow all year round?"

"A wasteland?" Qiangu Dongfeng laughed, his smile laced with sarcasm. "Beneath that lies the gateway connecting to the Abyss Plane. Six thousand years ago, the Abyss invaded and nearly wiped out the entire continent. It was the original Shrek Seven Devils and countless powerhouses who paid with their lives to seal that passage. And the Blood God Legion—they have guarded that place for generations."

He took a sip of tea and continued, "The minimum requirement for a legion member is a Soul Saint. The Nine Blood Gods are each powerhouses at the Peerless Douluo level or higher. They do not participate in the conflicts of the continent, nor do they associate with any faction; their sole mission is to guard that gate."

Qiangu Zhangting's expression changed.

A minimum of a Soul Saint? Nine powerhouses at the Peerless Douluo level or higher?

This configuration already surpassed any known faction!