Departure, Bound for Headquarters

Outside the plaza of the Heaven Dou Spirit Pagoda, after Leng Yaozhu bid farewell to the two of them, she led them to an open-air parking lot.

As the capital of the Old Dou Ling Empire, Heaven Dou's Soul Guidance Train station was naturally one of the Federation's most important transportation hubs. There were therefore many open-air parking lots in every area, yet the one at the Heaven Dou Spirit Pagoda station seemed remarkably empty.

There was only one car and one person standing beside it.

Li Chen could not help feeling curious. Although Heaven Dou's Soul Guidance Train station has several open-air parking lots and several underground ones, surely this parking lot couldn't be so empty that it only had one car?

When the two women standing by the car saw Leng Yaozhu arrive, they immediately hurried to her side and greeted her.

They were a pair of twins, as though their creator had carelessly used the same mold twice. Their snow-white hair reached their waists, and their exquisite, sharply defined features made them look like elves who had stepped out of a fairy tale without needing any deliberate adornment.

The only difference was their eye color. The elder sister, Bai Haoze, had sky-blue eyes, while the younger sister, Bai Zhicen, had nature-green eyes. At that moment, both pairs of beautiful eyes shimmered with anxiety.

After replying with a smile, Leng Yaozhu introduced them to Gu Yue and Li Chen.

"These are Bai Haoze and Bai Zhicen. They are my capable assistants at headquarters. If there is anything you don't understand in the future, you can ask them. Just call them Big Sister Bai and Little Sister Bai."

After everyone exchanged greetings, Bai Haoze took the initiative to start the Soul Guidance car.

As she did so, Li Chen could not help looking at the vehicle.

The moment he saw it, Li Chen's pupils suddenly contracted, his golden eyes filled with astonishment.

Naturally, Li Chen was not surprised by how high-end the car was. That was not to say it was not high-end, but rather that when it came to Soul Tools, he was not merely unfamiliar with them—he knew absolutely nothing. He could not tell what kind of car it was at all.

What truly surprised him was its license plate: Ling AOOOOO2.

Much like the rules from Li Chen's previous life, every vehicle in the Sun Moon Federation needed a license plate in order to travel on the roads.

Sun Moon Federation license plates consisted of two parts.

The first was the first character of the plate number. That character was an abbreviation for the Federation's major powers. For example, forces directly under the Federation began with Ming, the Tang Sect used Tang, the Spirit Pagoda used Ling, and Shrek used Shi.

Everything after that was entirely random, though there would definitely be at least one letter.

Although only the first character of a Sun Moon Federation plate was fixed to indicate the major power it belonged to, while the rest was completely random aside from requiring at least one letter, there were still certain patterns.

In order to demonstrate the authority of the Federation government and its respect for the major powers, license plates were generally arranged with a major power's abbreviation followed by that power's ranking.

After everyone got into the car, Leng Yaozhu took the initiative to start a conversation.

"Normally, there would have been no need to go through the trouble of driving there, but on the way here, my Black-Grade Mecha was suddenly damaged. It is currently being sent in for repairs."

Black-Grade Mechas were among the great Soul Guidance technological creations of this era, one of the crystallizations of human wisdom. Although mechas could not compare to Battle Armor and had even stagnated somewhat in this age, a Red-Grade Mecha could still rival an ordinary Title Douluo.

Leng Yaozhu deliberately slowed her tone and spoke solemnly.

"That black mecha was personally forged by me in my youth. However, as my strength increased, it gradually became nothing more than a means of transportation. Remember this: even the most advanced Red-Grade Mecha is only equivalent to Three-Word Battle Armor."

"In this era, Battle Armor represents the strong. The strongest will always be Four-Word Battle Armor Masters. Mu Ye of the Body Sect is a typical example. He clearly had considerable talent, yet he chose to specialize in mechas, which left him far weaker than those of his generation who became ultimate Four-Word Battle Armor Masters."

Gu Yue nodded and looked at Li Chen beside her. The young man wore a thoughtful expression, as though contemplating something important.

"What are you thinking about?" she could not help asking. Compared with Four-Word Battle Armor, which did not particularly concern her since she had once possessed divine armor, she cared more about the Underworld.

"I was wondering whether my Battle Armor could one day perfectly accommodate both of my Martial Souls."

At that, Leng Yaozhu could not help looking at him. In her plans, this was indeed a major difficulty. With current technology, creating Battle Armor that could perfectly accommodate two Martial Souls should not be impossible, but the materials alone presented an enormous challenge.

Gu Yue fell silent for a moment. She did not know how to answer that question, after all, she did not have enough expertise in this area. (She was only a one-million-and-six-year-old underage dragon.)

After a pause, Li Chen gave a carefree smile and said,

"Forget it. There will always be a way when the cart reaches the mountain, and the boat will straighten itself when it reaches the bridge. There is no need to dwell on it now."

Gu Yue did not ask any more questions. She had not expected Li Chen to be so optimistic, and the words she had intended to say were immediately swallowed back down.

It would take several hours to travel from Heaven Dou City to the Spirit Pagoda. Gu Yue naturally turned on her tablet and began browsing information about the human world.

Just then, Leng Yaozhu cleared her throat and said,

"Gu Yue, your Martial Soul is the Elementalist, specifically multi-element control. For your cultivation, I am more inclined to improve your spiritual power and control rather than purify your elements. You can consider it. But Li Chen, what is your Martial Soul? A Body Martial Soul with attributes?"

"Your Excellency Heavenly Phoenix, my Martial Soul is called Pluto. It possesses both life and death attributes. My Martial Soul comes with quite a few abilities, such as Underworld Fire and Underworld Lock. My first soul skill is Fate Verdict. It has a certain chance of stripping away another person's Soul Power and defense, and it is a growth-type soul skill."

Leng Yaozhu had initially been quite surprised when she heard Pluto, instinctively thinking of the Pluto Douluo. But a Pluto with a life attribute?

"I suppose your Soul Spirit is Fate Underworld Qilin. Among the Indomitable Soul Spirits currently possessed by the Spirit Pagoda, it should be the only one capable of providing you with a fate-type soul skill."

Leng Yaozhu spoke.

Li Chen nodded at her words, then released it.

After glancing at the two women, the little qilin shrank down and nestled against Li Chen's shoulder. It squinted and fell asleep. Fate had told it there was no danger, so it carelessly leaned against its master.

At this sight, not only Leng Yaozhu but even the well-informed Gu Yue fell silent. During all her years asleep in the Star Dou Forest, she had never seen such a carefree soul beast.

Leng Yaozhu frowned slightly and turned her gaze toward Gu Yue.

"After you return to the Spirit Pagoda, I will use a virtual battlefield to test your abilities. I will create cultivation plans for both of you according to your strengths!"

After the two answered in agreement, Li Chen realized that Gu Yue had been accepted as a disciple while he had not, so he asked,

"Your Excellency Heavenly Phoenix, how should I address you from now on...?"

"From now on, just call me Aunt Leng." Leng Yaozhu had no intention of taking Li Chen as her disciple. In her heart, it was enough to support Gu Yue as the future deputy pagoda master and have her protect the Leng Family. She had other plans for Li Chen.

"Alright!" Li Chen nodded in agreement.

Leng Yaozhu smiled faintly and began explaining the upcoming training plan.

Time flowed silently, the years like fine sand slipping through fingertips, eventually scattering gently into the wind.

The car slowly entered Shrek City and headed toward Spirit Pagoda headquarters.