"Have I come to the human world?"
The girl murmured to herself, a hint of thought passing through her violet eyes. Her silver-white hair fell over her shoulders, and her fair little legs were bare. She looked as if she had been carved from jade, radiating an otherworldly elegance, tinged with a faint air of noble authority.
"Is this Shrek City, the continent's greatest city that Di Tian spoke of? Human development really is swift."
The girl's gaze swept across the rows of towering buildings before finally settling on a shop beside the street.
The shop bore the emblem of a little green monster. At the very bottom of its signboard was a line of small text: "Handmade Big Sausages, jointly endorsed by Shrek Academy."
"I never thought my transformation would bring such a mishap. I even ran into a spatial rift. So now I'm only half of the Silver Dragon King, and the Martial Soul I gained after transforming is... the Silver Dragon Spear."
"And my name now is Na'er."
The girl carefully sensed her current condition, silently pondering. On the back of her right hand was the mark of a long silver-white spear.
"Little girl, wandering around the streets at this hour? Be careful you don't run into any bad people."
Just then, as the crisp sound of footsteps rang out, a soft laugh came from behind Na'er.
"Hmm?"
Na'er turned around. When she saw the person behind her, a hint of astonishment appeared in her violet eyes.
The woman behind her was tall and slender, with graceful curves. Her dark-red hair cascaded down like a waterfall, and her skin was as fair as carved white jade. Her phoenix eyes held a crimson gleam. Her features were at once clear and lively like a young girl's and touched with mature charm, while her lovely face was both elegant and strikingly cool.
She wore a red robe embroidered with a golden phoenix. Under the streetlights high above, she was a beauty beyond compare.
"Little girl, did you get separated from your parents? Where do you live?"
When Na'er didn't answer, the woman slowly crouched down to meet her eyes and asked gently.
"Na'er doesn't have any parents... or a home anymore..."
Na'er gave a slight shake of her head, letting a trace of sadness show on her lovely face as she spoke in a pitiful voice.
She had only just arrived in the human world and hadn't figured anything out yet. What was more, her strength had been temporarily sealed because of her transformation, and the woman before her clearly had a high status.
So Na'er decided to try attaching herself to a powerful patron.
"Mm, just as I thought. I really did inherit the Silver Dragon King's peerless wisdom."
Seeing the dignified woman before her look surprised and hesitant, Na'er silently congratulated herself on her decision.
"The Soul Power fluctuations radiating from this little girl are clearly at rank ten. Judging by her bone age, she's only six. And there's actually an aura inside her that's no weaker than my own. Is it her Martial Soul...?"
The woman's brows knitted slightly as she looked at the little girl before her, a trace of surprise flashing in her phoenix eyes. After all, her Martial Soul was the top-tier Heavenly Phoenix.
She was none other than Leng Yaozhu, the current deputy Tower Master of the Spirit Pagoda and head of the Phoenix Clan.
"Why don't you come home with me for now? Auntie's home is quite spacious."
Leng Yaozhu reached out and stroked Na'er's little head, a smile playing on her lips as she spoke softly. She looked a little like a gray wolf about to lead away a little lamb.
"If what this girl says is true, then I really have stumbled upon a genius."
Leng Yaozhu thought to herself. Tonight, she had felt an inexplicable stirring in her heart and couldn't settle down to cultivate. At her level, such a feeling seemed more like an omen. So she had decided to come out for a walk—and happened to run into the girl before her.
"You're not a bad person, are you?"
Na'er asked cautiously.
What was out of reach was always more precious. Na'er couldn't just give herself away so easily; she had to make herself seem more valuable.
"Hahaha, of course I'm not a bad person. I'm with the Spirit Pagoda. You can relax now."
Leng Yaozhu smiled.
At the mention of the Spirit Pagoda, Na'er's eyes immediately lit up. Of course she knew of the Spirit Pagoda, a behemoth in the human world.
"Gu Yue, you just stay in that backwater called the Star Dou Great Forest. I, Na'er, will definitely be one step ahead of you in saving the Soul Beast Clan."
Na'er huffed inwardly. Then, as if she had made a momentous decision, she held out her little hand to Leng Yaozhu.
"Good girl, Na'er. Let's go."
Leng Yaozhu took Na'er's little hand, preparing to bring her home.
"What should I call you?"
Na'er asked hesitantly.
"Auntie's name is Leng Yaozhu. You can call me Aunt Leng."
A smile appeared on Leng Yaozhu's lovely face. Beneath her icy exterior, she seemed to have a flame burning within—warm as the sun, yet cold as ice.
"Hello, Sister Leng."
Na'er chirped.
Leng Yaozhu didn't say anything, but the corners of her mouth kept rising. She held Na'er's little hand tightly.
Beneath the gentle streetlights, the two figures—one large, one small—stretched longer and longer before disappearing around the street corner...
Not long after the two left, a stern young man and a gentle-looking woman arrived at the same spot.
"Brother Ming, it's so late. Why did you want to come out for a walk? Is something weighing on your mind?"
The woman asked gently.
"I sensed an opportunity somewhere in the depths of the unseen, but now it's gone. Maybe I was mistaken."
The stern young man shook his head slightly, then looked at the woman beside him with a hint of apology.
"Ya Li, you came out with me so late. I'm really..."
"As long as I can be by your side, Brother Ming, it's nothing. Besides, it's nice to get out for a walk."
Ya Li linked her arm through Yun Ming's strong one and spoke softly.
"Wake up, my apprentice. At your age, you can't keep sleeping this long."
Outside Shrek City, a dark-red Mecha descended. Mu Ye hauled Jiang Xiu out of it and forcibly booted him up.
Shrek City had a Sky Prohibition rule, so they would have to walk to the Spirit Pagoda's headquarters from here.
"Master, I was just too tired last night. I'll definitely get up early from now on."
Jiang Xiu rubbed his sleepy eyes and stretched beside the Mecha. But when he saw Shrek City before him, his eyebrows lifted slightly.
A tall metal wall encircled Shrek City, gleaming in the first light of dawn. Patrol squads moved around it, every one of them bearing the emblem of Shrek Academy. They were clearly Shrek's own troops.
"It's fine. After you obtain your Soul Spirit today, I'll teach you the unique meditation method of our Body Sect. It'll let you replace sleep with cultivation and squeeze... make use of your time."
Mu Ye raised a hand and put away the Mecha behind him, then waved Jiang Xiu along toward Shrek City, speaking as they walked.
"What do you think? Impressive, isn't it? Shrek City is known as the safest city on the continent. Of the continent's four great powers, all but the War God Temple have their headquarters here. When our Body Sect returns to glory, we'll build a headquarters here too."
"Safe? Master, this really isn't the place to build our headquarters."
Jiang Xiu hurriedly waved his hands as he spoke.
"What's wrong, apprentice? You think it's unsafe here? You don't suppose there'll be some huge explosion here, do you?"
Mu Ye joked as he led Jiang Xiu into Shrek City.
At those words, Jiang Xiu stopped in his tracks and looked at Mu Ye in disbelief.
Could his master actually be a prophet?
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