Someone Shelters Me from the Wind and Rain

In human eyes, the sky was vast and boundless. Beneath the blue sky and white clouds, birds flew freely—how free, how pleasant.

For countless years, humanity could only gaze up at the sky until one day, they conquered it.

The turning point came with the invention of soul guidance aircraft, another major milestone in the history of human civilization.

Under Meng Xinghe's secret guidance, soul guidance aircraft were successfully brought into existence.

At first, soul guidance aircraft were used only as military soul devices. Their exorbitant manufacturing costs and the cost of trial and error prevented them from becoming widely available for civilian use—until another great invention emerged: the wind tunnel!

A wind tunnel was a tubular experimental device capable of artificially generating and controlling airflow to simulate the flow of air around aircraft or objects. It could measure the effects of airflow on objects and observe physical phenomena, making it the most commonly used and effective tool for aerodynamic experiments.

With this invention, soul guidance aircraft no longer needed to take to the skies. They only needed to be placed in a wind tunnel and blasted with air to test their performance and collect data, greatly accelerating the technological iteration of soul guidance aircraft.

A hundred years ago, the Federal Parliament passed the Civil Aviation Aircraft Passage Act, building airports and opening flight routes in major Federation cities that met the Act's requirements.

East Sea City was a major city. The Holy Spirit Cult branch there bore the title of "Holy," while the Spirit Pagoda branch there ranked among the Eighteen Heavenly Pillars. Naturally, it qualified as a major Federation city under the Act.

At this moment, a civilian airliner cruised ten thousand meters above the ground. Gu Yuena sat on the comfortable, soft bed in first class, holding a tablet in both hands. Her bright eyes watched a film with great interest.

It was a documentary called History of Soul Guidance Aircraft Development.

"The Holy Spirit Cult suppressed the motley demons and monsters led by the Wild Holy Spirit Cult, giving the Federation a relatively safe and stable environment. Only then could civilian aviation pass through Parliament as legislation."

"To ensure safety, airport security procedures are also quite cumbersome. Even so, terrorist hijackings still occur in the Federation from time to time. Fortunately, such incidents are isolated cases, and the overall spread of civilian aviation remains flourishing."

After finishing the documentary, Gu Yuena rested her chin on her hand and looked through the window at the lofty vista of blue skies and white clouds, her starlit eyes shining.

The more she learned about human history, the more she marveled at humanity's creativity. Through it, she also saw how Meng Xinghe had propelled events forward throughout ten thousand years of history.

Behind every major event in human history stood Meng Xinghe's shadow.

History did not record it that way, nor could it possibly do so, but Gu Yuena knew that he must have been behind all of those historical events.

Of all those overt and covert historical events, the one she understood best was the "Reincarnation Plan."

Thinking of this, Gu Yuena could not help recalling the scene of her first encounter with Meng Xinghe. The Silver Dragon King bloodline she had been so proud of had actually been suppressed by him.

God King bloodline! An absolute God King bloodline!

At that moment, she had formed some guesses about Meng Xinghe's identity and agreed to join the Reincarnation Plan.

"This truly is a wise plan, not much different from the one I envisioned."

The Reincarnation Plan had been underway for so many years. The soul beasts participating in it had now all risen to high positions, scattered throughout the Douluo Federation like sparks of fire.

The Holy Spirit Cult, Spirit Pagoda, War God Hall, the Eight Great Legions, Blood God Legion, Federal Parliament, Scientists Association, Forging Association, Mecha Association...

All these factions had their people—ah, no, transformed soul beasts—ah, no, still people.

Because transformed soul beasts completely became human after reaching rank seventy.

Among the soul beasts participating in the Reincarnation Plan were no Di Tian, Bi Ji, or the other infamous ferocious beasts well known in the human world.

They were simply too famous. From time to time, they had to show themselves in the human world, appear on the front pages and headlines of online media, and promote peaceful coexistence between humans and soul beasts. Therefore, they had no time to transform and cultivate anew.

Ring ring ring~~~

Her phone rang. It was Peace Will Be Better, sung by the Three-Eyed Golden Lion as the lead vocalist, with a chorus of ferocious beasts and legacy soul spirits.

Gu Yuena picked up her phone, glanced at the caller information, and pressed the answer button.

"Hello." Her tone was cool and elegant, like a lofty flower untouched by the mortal world.

"Is there something you need? If not, I'm hanging up."

"Lord, why are you suddenly being so cold to me?" A young girl's aggrieved voice came from the phone's speaker.

"Can't figure it out?"

Thinking of all those little online stickers she had used, Gu Yuena immediately flushed crimson. Her voice turned cold and imposing. "I never should have let you teach me how to use the internet. You've completely ruined my image!"

Rumors ran rampant within the Spirit Pagoda that Miss Gu Yuena appeared to be an aloof, icy beauty, but was actually quite sultry beneath the surface.

"Oh, Lord, weren't you having quite a bit of fun with it?" The Three-Eyed Golden Lion blurted out, then instantly regretted it.

"Ah, no, Lord, listen to me... Beep! Beep! Beep!"

Gu Yuena angrily hung up. Before she could even put down her phone, it began ringing again.

Answer it? Or not?

She then picked up a flower and plucked off its petals one by one. The last petal said, "Answer."

Damn it, there was an odd number of petals!

Gu Yuena reluctantly pressed the answer button. "Go on, then. How are you going to explain yourself?"

"No, no." The Three-Eyed Golden Lion put away her playful attitude. "I'm not trying to explain myself. There's something I want to share with you, Lord."

"Guess what, I... No, no, no, don't hang up! I'll tell you, all right?"

"I'm currently in Mingdu, on my way to the Holy Spirit Cathedral. As a peace ambassador, I'm going to retrieve something connected to Lord Heavenly God's Draw Out the Snake Plan."

Holy Spirit Cathedral? The Draw Out the Snake Plan?

Gu Yuena had a guess. "That thing you're talking about... it wouldn't happen to be a Golden Apple, would it?"

"That's amazing!" The Three-Eyed Golden Lion immediately flattered her. "As expected of our peerlessly wise and brilliant Lord. You actually guessed it."

"The Golden Apple borne by the Golden Apple Tree, which grows by drawing upon the power of the earth veins. It's a rare treasure that greatly replenishes one's origin, and also the key item for locating the nine earth-vein nodes."

"Now that Lord Heavenly God has transformed and cultivated anew, those rats hiding in the darkness, too ashamed to show themselves, have begun to stir. They will definitely strike to seize it after I retrieve the Golden Apple."

"What do you mean?" Gu Yuena grew curious. "Xinghe is having you retrieve a Golden Apple so they can deliberately steal it?"

"More or less," the Three-Eyed Golden Lion said from the other end of the call.

"Lord Heavenly God meant that we can give them an opportunity, but we can't let them succeed too easily. We need to add some difficulty and make them go through countless twists and turns before they get it. That way, they won't suspect that we deliberately let them have it."

"Mm." Gu Yuena abruptly changed the subject. "How do you know more than I do?"

Hearing this, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion once again blurted out without thinking.

"Lord Heavenly God said that children only need to grow up in peace. There will naturally be adults to hold up the sky above their heads."

Oh no, she had said the wrong thing again!

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's heart skipped a beat, but she was surprised to find that the call had not been hung up. She carefully asked, "L-Lord, are you all right?"

"I'm fine." Gu Yuena's tone carried obvious emotional fluctuations. "Isn't that how humans are? The peace and tranquility before one's eyes exists only because someone is carrying a heavy burden where no one can see."

"It's quite nice. Having someone shelter me from the wind and rain is a very happy thing."