Yan Jingzhe rolled his shoulders, then turned and headed out of Shrek Academy. He planned to visit the Spirit Pagoda first.
The Spirit Pagoda had been sited on a stretch of high ground at the outer edge of the Great Star Dou Forest, roughly two hundred li from Shrek City. It was not far; at his speed, he arrived in the time it took to burn an incense stick.
He had visited the place twice before—once to settle on the location, and once to discuss the details of their cooperation with the Beast God, Di Tian. Now that he was coming again, the tower itself should have risen already.
After flying over Shrek City and crossing a range of rolling hills, he saw a tall tower under construction on the distant horizon.
The tower had only reached a third of its planned height, but its eventual scale was already apparent.
Its base formed a regular octagon, each side more than twenty zhang long. Gray-white granite walls rose from the ground, thick and solid as though they had grown from the earth itself.
Bands of dark gold Soul Tool patterns were embedded around the tower at regular intervals, gleaming faintly beneath the morning light. They had not yet been fully activated, but one could already imagine the sight when they all lit up.
Dense scaffolding surrounded the tower, and dozens of craftsmen busied themselves at different heights. Some hauled stone, some carved Soul Tool circuits, while others debugged the unfinished Soul Tool core hub at the base. The construction site was noisy yet orderly. The clanging of tools mingled with the workers' shouted calls, carrying far through the air.
Yan Jingzhe stood in the sky and watched for quite some time.
The progress was faster than he had expected. The tower's