The next morning, sunlight bathed Shrek City.
After yesterday's baptism of life, everyone's strength had undergone a qualitative leap. Their most pressing task now was to find suitable Soul Spirits for Xie Xie and Xu Xiaoyan.
The group arrived at the Spirit Pagoda in a grand procession.
The Spirit Pagoda was no longer the place where the Qiangu Family could blot out the sky with one hand.
Ever since the scandal exposing the Qiangu Family's collusion with the Holy Spirit Cult, followed by their bloody clash with the cult over competing interests, both sides had suffered devastating losses. Amid that chaos, the Qiangu Family's reputation had collapsed completely, leaving the public disillusioned and Soul Masters alienated.
In the end, Gu Yue's teacher, Heavenly Phoenix Douluo Leng Yaozhu, had turned the tide. With Gu Yue's support, she took over the mess and became the Spirit Pagoda's new master.
"The Spirit Pagoda is finally back on the right track."
Gu Yue looked at the iconic emblem atop the tower, a complicated emotion flickering in her eyes. Although the Qiangu Family had fallen and the threat to Soul Beasts had diminished by more than half, she knew it still wasn't enough.
While everyone was choosing Soul Spirits inside the tower, Na'er quietly slipped out with Tang Wulin in tow.
"Brother, how can we come to Shrek City without having Uncle Li's roast beef?" Na'er wheedled, swinging Tang Wulin's arm.
The moment Tang Wulin heard anything about food, his eyes lit up, and last night's exhaustion vanished. "Let's go, let's go! I've been craving it for ages!"
Just as they had as children, the two wove through Shrek City's little streets, filling them with cheerful laughter.
Gu Yue stood before the Spirit Pagoda's floor-to-ceiling window, watching their affectionate figures recede into the distance.
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