The Joys of This Place-Why Think of Star Dou?

The Spirit Pagoda, the deputy tower master's private landing pad.

Leng Yaozhu stood atop the raised platform, gazing into the distance. Wherever her eyes fell, a deep-purple, phoenix-shaped mecha with Leng Qingning's distinctive style slowly rose into the sky.

Its wings stretched wide, and the exquisite patterns etched along their edges shimmered in the sunlight. It was a striking sight.

High above, the Purple Phoenix circled with beating wings and let out a clear cry, like a phoenix calling from the ninth heaven.

That was the final farewell between Leng Qingning and her group and Leng Yaozhu.

After the cry, purple-crystal flames burst from the mecha's thrusters. It accelerated in an instant, the pale-purple light flowing along its wingtips growing ever brighter as it sped through layer upon layer of clouds.

As the Purple Phoenix cut across the sky, it left a brilliant trail that lingered for a long time.

This mecha was Leng Qingning's personal machine, named after her Martial Soul: the Amethyst Phoenix.

When it was first built years ago, Leng Qingning had been young and full of longing. She had commissioned it to travel across all of Douluo Continent, not for combat.

That was why the mecha's interior was exceptionally spacious, with leather sofas, a temperature-controlled refrigerator, a tea table, and all the other amenities.

Unfortunately, not long after the Amethyst Phoenix was completed, Leng Qingning was ordered to report to the Blood God Legion, where she ended up staying for ten years.

By the time she returned, she had lost the desire to travel the continent. She put the Amethyst Phoenix away in a Spatial Soul Tool and left it at home.

This time, she happened to be bringing An Lan to Shrek City, so she dug the long-sealed Amethyst Phoenix back out of a corner.

A cool breeze stirred through the spacious, comfortable rear cabin of the mecha.

Na'er lounged on the soft sofa, looking utterly at ease. Her crystal cup held freshly squeezed spirit-fruit juice, with a slender straw tilted inside. Every so often, she took a sip.

The joys of this place—why think of Star Dou?

Just as Leng Yaozhu had guessed, Na'er's knowledge of the Martial Soul Fusion Skill had all been hastily gathered from the Soul Net to humor her.

But as a distinguished member of the Spirit Pagoda, ever since she had inadvertently learned about Huo Yuhao, the Spirit Pagoda's founder, a deep curiosity had taken root in her heart.

There was no other reason. The Huo Yuhao described on the Soul Net was simply too absurdly powerful.

Not only could he perform four entirely different Martial Soul Fusion Skills with the love of his life, Tang Wutong, but he had also fought Di Tian to a standstill when he was only a Soul Saint—and, most importantly, had managed to retreat unscathed.

Of course, although Na'er had no fondness for Di Tian, that treacherous rebel, she still recognized his strength.

So she wasn't foolish enough to believe that Huo Yuhao, while still a Soul Saint, had really been strong enough to challenge Di Tian.

She only wanted to use the time on the way back to Shangling City to glimpse the life of such an extraordinary genius.

Curiosity bubbling inside her, Na'er held her Soul Guidance Phone and eagerly browsed the encyclopedia entries about Huo Yuhao. Whenever she had a question, she asked An Lan beside her.

"An Lan, An Lan, Huo Yuhao cultivated so quickly and became a god. Was it because he learned the Tang Sect's Mysterious Heaven Skill?"

An Lan glanced at the glowing Soul Guidance Phone in her hand and saw she was looking up Huo Yuhao. Without a second thought, he replied, "The Tang Sect was just bragging."

After all, the Tang Sect had been wiped out by then. There wasn't much else they could brag about.

"Oh."

Na'er didn't ask anything more. She turned back to the phone screen, then asked a moment later, "When Huo Yuhao first enrolled at Shrek Academy, was his Soul Power actually level fifteen or level twenty-eight?"

She had searched through plenty of information on the Soul Net, and those were more or less the only two claims about Huo Yuhao's Soul Power when he enrolled.

Both sides insisted they were right, and the argument had grown fierce.

One claim said Huo Yuhao had been only level fifteen when he enrolled, barely meeting Shrek Academy's admission requirements. His aptitude was mediocre, and the only reason he had defied fate and ascended to godhood was Shrek Academy's careful nurturing.

Every detail was meant to highlight Shrek Academy's ability to cultivate talent.

The other claim was that Huo Yuhao had already been level twenty-eight when he enrolled: a heaven-blessed genius with extraordinary talent. The moment he entered the Outer Court, he had alarmed Xuan Zi, the Sea God Pavilion's deputy master, and received the academy's full support, ultimately forging a godhood.

That version, too, praised Shrek Academy's judgment and strength.

In short, the two sides argued back and forth, but both had the same central message: Shrek Academy was the best in the world, and you'd regret it for the rest of your life if you missed your chance to attend.

An Lan frowned at her question and answered with a hint of uncertainty. "I remember it being level eleven."

He wouldn't bother committing trivial information like that to memory, so naturally he wasn't entirely sure.

But he knew Huo Yuhao had been useless in the early stages. His Innate Soul Power had been just level one, and after awakening his Martial Soul, it had taken him several years to reach level ten. Then he had left Duke White Tiger Mansion and traveled alone to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt for his First Soul Ring.

It was there that he had met the lifelong nemesis he would never forget: the Wind Baboon.

Based on what he knew, level eleven made perfect sense.

"Hm?" Na'er suddenly looked up and eyed An Lan suspiciously. "Are you sure it wasn't level twenty-one?"

In her view, level fifteen, as the Soul Net encyclopedia claimed, was already pathetic. Level eleven would make him the most useless of the useless.

So her first thought was that An Lan must have gotten it wrong.

"How could it be?" An Lan scoffed at once, sounding completely certain.

He reached over and took Na'er's Soul Guidance Phone, his finger quickly swiping across the screen.

He wanted to see for himself exactly how the Soul Net had distorted the facts.

After rapidly scanning the information on the screen, An Lan pointed to a line of text and looked up at Na'er, analyzing it with certainty. "Look here. It says he was level fifteen at eleven years old. That's pure nonsense. After I fused my First Soul Ring, my Soul Power only went up three levels. How could Huo Yuhao have gained five?"

"Here, level twenty-eight—that's even more ridiculous." An Lan's lips curled with disdain. "How could Huo Yuhao have been that much of a genius? Do you know why they insisted on making him level twenty-eight? Because Tang San was level twenty-nine at that age.

"Think about it. Really think about it."

Na'er nodded along without thinking. After fusing her First Soul Ring, her Soul Power had also gone up by only three levels, so she too felt that Huo Yuhao couldn't have been better than her.

Level twenty-eight wasn't anything special, but being one level below Tang San at the same age was quite a coincidence.

But then she realized something was wrong and quickly raised her hand to stop An Lan. "Wait, hold on a second."

"What is it?" An Lan looked at her and stopped talking.

Na'er frowned, her eyes full of confusion. "Are you saying Huo Yuhao didn't successfully fuse his First Soul Ring until he was eleven? He was only level ten at eleven, lower than I am now?"

"Isn't that common knowledge?" An Lan said as if it were obvious. "Who doesn't know Huo Yuhao had Innate Soul Power of level one, and only reached level ten at eleven, when he went to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt for a Soul Ring?"

Na'er turned to look at Bai Haoze, her eyes full of questions.

With all her intelligence, she simply couldn't imagine what sort of human being could have Innate Soul Power of level one.