Leng Yaozhu

Shrek City, Spirit Pagoda headquarters.

A towering white-gold skyscraper, it stands as the tallest building on the continent today.

The Federation has explicit regulations stating that no new construction may exceed its height; this is the most intuitive recognition of the Spirit Pagoda's status.

At this moment, at the top of the tower.

A flat-level office with an incredibly expansive view occupies the entire floor. The massive floor-to-ceiling windows take in the entirety of Shrek City, with wisps of clouds appearing close enough to touch.

A tall, graceful figure stands silently before the window.

Sunlight filters through the glass, gilding her silhouette with a golden edge.

She wears a gown as brilliant as a raging fire, outlining breathtaking curves. Even without seeing her face, one could conclude from this graceful posture alone that she must be a peerless beauty capable of toppling kingdoms.

"Your Excellency Heavenly Phoenix."

A pair of twin sisters knock and enter, stopping five paces away from the woman and bowing respectfully.

The woman turns slowly.

The sunlight happens to illuminate her face.

It is a face that takes one's breath away.

Her features are as exquisite as if carved by a master craftsman, her brows and eyes possessing both classical gentleness and the majesty of one who has long held a high position.

Most striking are those crimson eyes, like molten gemstones, deep and scorching.

Vice Tower Master of the Spirit Pagoda, Head of the Leng Family, ninety-eighth-rank Super Douluo.

Leng Yaozhu.

"How is the progress on the artificial ten-thousand-year spirit soul?" she asks, her voice as cold and clear as jade.

"Progress is slow," the elder sister, Bai Haoze, replies. "We are currently stuck at the 'intelligence generation' phase. We simply cannot find a breakthrough on how to make artificial spirit souls possess self-awareness on the level of ten-thousand-year spirit beasts."

The twin sisters look almost identical, both as delicate as fairies from a fairy tale. However, the elder sister Bai Haoze's pupils are as blue as the sky, while the younger sister Bai Zhicen's are as green as a forest.

"As expected," Leng Yaozhu says, her red lips parting slightly.

Once a spirit beast reaches ten thousand years, it develops rudimentary intelligence. The same applies to spirit souls.

But artificial spirit souls are different; those under a thousand years can be mass-produced using existing soul guidance technology. Only the ten-thousand-year level remains stuck in the theoretical stage.

The greatest hurdle is how to bestow them with "consciousness."

This is equivalent to giving soul guidance technology a soul.

If this could be broken through, future spirit masters might no longer need to rely on spirit beasts. After all, spirit beasts on the continent are now on the verge of extinction, and every living one is precious.

Bai Zhicen hesitates, wanting to say more.

"Speak," Leng Yaozhu says, her gaze sweeping over her.

"Your Excellency Heavenly Phoenix..." Bai Zhicen bites her lip. "The various research groups... are in urgent need of spirit beast samples."

Leng Yaozhu's beautiful brows knit together slightly. "I recall that we just replenished a batch from the Star Dou Forest edge protection zone last month. How could they be consumed so quickly?"

Bai Haoze and Bai Zhicen exchange a glance.

"Those..." Bai Zhicen lowers her head. "They were all requisitioned by Tower Master Qiangu. It wasn't just last month; over the past six months, seventy percent of the spirit beasts in the headquarters' reserves have been taken by him under the guise of 'special research,' and their whereabouts are unknown."

The elder sister, Bai Haoze, says indignantly, "Most of those spirit beasts... were requisitioned by Tower Master Qiangu under the name of 'urgent special projects.' It wasn't just last time; for the past half-year, over seventy percent of the live spirit beast reserves at headquarters have flowed out through unclear channels. We cannot even query their specific usage."

Bai Zhicen also cannot help but whisper, "Your Excellency Heavenly Phoenix, if this continues... many are privately whispering that the Spirit Pagoda is becoming the private property of the Qiangu family. Resource allocation is decided entirely by their word alone."

Leng Yaozhu falls silent.

When the Spirit Pagoda was first founded, it was jointly governed by over a dozen families, keeping each other in check. But as a thousand years have passed, some families have declined, others have had their lineages severed, and now only the Leng Family and the Qiangu Family remain.

The Qiangu family is prosperous in descendants, with talent emerging in every generation.

The Leng family, by contrast.

A flash of gloom passes through the depths of Leng Yaozhu's eyes.

The "Leng Family Sisters" who once shook the continent—her younger sister Leng Yulai fell into the evil path and became an evil spirit master, while she... remains alone, unmarried to this day.

The main line of the Leng family is on the verge of extinction; without fresh blood, without succeeding top-tier geniuses, their voice in the game of power naturally continues to wane.

Her position as Vice Tower Master may seem prestigious, but in reality, much of her actual power has been hollowed out.

If only the Leng family could produce a single genius, how could they have been marginalized to this extent?

"I understand."

She withdraws her gaze, her tone revealing neither anger nor joy. "Since the experiments require them, we shall find another way. In my name, apply for a special quota from the Federal Spirit Beast Protection Department and go capture some more."

"Yes!"

The Bai sisters respond in unison, understanding in their hearts that this is the greatest effort Leng Yaozhu can make under her current authority.

"There is one more matter, Your Excellency." Bai Haoze takes out a letter with an archaic style and no modern postmarks from her bosom; on the envelope is only a crest resembling a bleeding longsword.

"We received an encrypted letter today, marked as originating from... the Blood God Legion."

"The Blood God Legion?"

Leng Yaozhu's beautiful eyes suddenly narrowed.

To the vast majority of Federation citizens and even mid-to-lower-tier soul masters, this name was extremely unfamiliar. It was the ultimate defensive line guarding the darkest reaches of the continent.

She reached out a slender hand to accept the letter.

The moment her fingertips touched the emblem, an extremely subtle yet incomparably pure aura of iron-blooded carnage flashed and vanished; it was undoubtedly authentic.

Bai Zhicen could not help but ask out of curiosity, "Heavenly Phoenix, what exactly is the origin of this Blood God Legion? We checked the Federation's public database and couldn't find any detailed records."

Leng Yaozhu did not answer immediately, instead gently breaking the wax seal and taking out the letterhead inside.

The stationery was specially made, with a tough texture and faint energy fluctuations to prevent prying eyes.

Her gaze swept across it rapidly.

At first, she was calm.

Then, her brows lifted slightly, revealing surprise and suspicion.

Following that, a look of disbelief flashed in the depths of her eyes.

By the time she reached the end, a curve slowly formed on the red lips of her usually cold and beautiful face.

Bai Haoze and Bai Zhicen were both stunned.

They had followed Leng Yaozhu for many years and knew well that ever since her sister Leng Yulai fell into evil ways and they became enemies, her temperament had changed drastically, remaining cold as frost year-round with rare smiles.

The Spirit Pagoda headquarters privately referred to her as the "Ice Phoenix"—beautiful, but bone-chillingly cold.

Yet at this moment, her smile had a stunning quality like melting snow, causing even them, as women, to be momentarily dazed.

What exactly was written in the letter? How could it make the Heavenly Phoenix so delighted?

The two felt their curiosity gnawing at them like a cat, but seeing that Leng Yaozhu did not take the initiative to explain, they dared not ask further.

"Heavenly Phoenix, if there are no other instructions, we shall take our leave," Bai Haoze said respectfully.

"Mm, go. Handle the matter regarding the soul beasts with urgency," Leng Yaozhu nodded slightly, her gaze still lingering on the letter.

Once the sisters gently closed the door and left, the office returned to silence.

Leng Yaozhu walked to the window, a wisp of crimson-gold flame igniting at her fingertips, and the letter from the Endless Mountain Range turned to ash in the fire, leaving no trace behind.

She looked toward the north, her gaze seemingly piercing through the endless distance to land on that perpetually frozen mountain range.

Blood God Legion... Zhang Huanyun... and, Luo Yang...

She whispered to herself, the smile deepening.

"Is this fate... seeing the Leng Family gradually withering away, and sending me a piece of peerless raw jade?"

"Autonomous martial soul awakening, triggering plane blessings, suspected god-level, innate domain, and even capable of manifesting the Plane Lord..."

Every word in the letter was enough to shock the entire soul master world.

And all of this was concentrated in a six-year-old child, who was also the son of an old friend.

"Parents both dead, burdened by the Black Emperor curse, needs to be kept away from the Abyss frontline... entrusted to me..."

Leng Yaozhu gently clenched her fist, feeling the faint resonance and longing coming from the Heavenly Phoenix martial soul within her.

The Leng Family had been silent for too long, so long that they were almost forgotten.

And the arrival of this child might be the turning point.

"Qiangu Dongfeng..." A cold light flashed in Leng Yaozhu's eyes. "Do you really think the Leng Family has no successors left?"

She turned around, her crimson dress tracing a flame-like arc in the air.

"Luo Yang, I am very much looking forward to what kind of surprises you will bring to me, and to the Leng Family."