In the evening, after leaving Leng Yaozhu's villa, Shaoyu paused as he passed through East Sea Park.
A few minutes later, he appeared in the depths of the park where the plant soul beasts resided. Led by the Nanshu (Camphor Tree) soul beast, the nine plant soul beasts quickly sensed Shaoyu's presence, rustling their leaves and flowers in joyful welcome.
"Alright, settle down!" Shaoyu smiled, his tone warm as he spoke to the lively plants. Pride and a deep sense of accomplishment filled him as he looked at these spirits he had nurtured so carefully.
Just like before, Shaoyu climbed onto the plant creatures' woven platform, lifted his Star Staff, and began to cast his Holy Dew. The precious drops fell upon each plant around him, which drank it up eagerly, as if it had been parched for ages.
Shaoyu smiled gently, watching the changes in each plant as he continued to release his skill.
There were still only nine plant soul beasts in this park. The most advanced, the Camphor Tree, was close to reaching 800 years of cultivation. According to Shaoyu's plan, by the time he left East Sea City for Shrek Academy, this Camphor Tree soul beast would likely break through to the thousand-year mark, earning the right to truly lead the other plant soul beasts.
Among the remaining eight, three had surpassed 500 years of cultivation: the Eastern Sea Thorn, Purple Sunflower, and Fallen Berry Flower. The other five ranged from 300 to 500 years: a Poplar, a Wild Daffodil, a Breeze Mint, a Windmill Daisy, and a Sea Lily.
These plant soul beasts were all transformed from regular plants and didn't have much attack power. Only the Eastern Sea Thorn was actively evolving toward a battle-oriented type; the others were on a more random path of evolution, without specific goals. Shaoyu had left their growth paths to nature, refraining from intervening, curious to observe how they developed on their own and hoping to learn something about the natural way.
After spending nearly two hours with the plant soul beasts, Shaoyu finally left the park.
The next few days were blissfully relaxed. He spent one day at the market with Xu Xiaoyan and the next swimming at the beach with Gu Yue, thoroughly enjoying his holiday. Soon enough, their seven-day break was drawing to a close.
On the last night of the break, Zero Class members returned to the academy one by one. Meanwhile, in a hidden mountain valley somewhere on the continent, a group of dark soul masters had gathered.
"Your Excellency Dark Phoenix, we have completed our investigation." A somber man clad in a black robe knelt respectfully before a figure seated in a high-backed chair. If Shaoyu or any member of Zero Class had been there, they would have recognized the style of his robe; it was identical to the one worn by the Madman Douluo.
"Oh? Let's hear it." A cold, seductive female voice sounded from the chair. Her back was to the room, so only a pair of slender, fair legs and black heels were visible from her seat.
"We deployed one of our agents and obtained a detailed report. The destruction of the Eastern Sea base was directly related to an incident involving a soul train." The man continued, "Madman Douluo led the Eastern Sea branch in an attack on a train heading from Tianhai City to East Sea City. Everything went smoothly at first, but then Madman Douluo was struck and killed by a flaming phoenix. Most of the Eastern Sea branch members perished in the blaze as well.
"We discovered similar burn marks at the ruins of the Eastern Sea base, so we're confident that the golden phoenix flame was involved. According to our intelligence, only one soul master in the Federation is capable of such a feat."
"Leng Yaozhu!" The woman scoffed, disdain filling her voice as she called out the name.
"Yes, Tianfeng Douluo Leng Yaozhu, Deputy Tower Master of the Spirit Pagoda, a 99th-level Limit Douluo, a four-word battle armor master, and one of the Federation's most formidable forces. She has long been one of the major obstacles to the Holy Church's millennia-old plan," the man reported thoroughly, revealing just how deeply their organization had infiltrated the Federation. "The Lord's instructions are clear: for now, ignore her. Our priority is Shrek Academy."
"Hmph! Tianfeng Douluo! What a grand title," the woman sneered coldly. "Alright, I understand."
"Yes, Your Excellency!" The man bowed respectfully.
"Dismissed!" she commanded.
"As you wish." The man rose slowly, retreating from the room.
Once he was gone, the chair slowly turned to reveal the woman seated upon it. She was strikingly beautiful, with features so captivating they would be hard to forget. But there was a certain darkness, an obsession, and a fierce ruthlessness in her aura that lent a chill to the air. She resembled Leng Yaozhu by about seventy percent, except her hair was a dark purple instead of red.
With an almost imperceptible smile, she murmured, "Leng Yaozhu, my dear sister, it won't be long now."
If she called Leng Yaozhu "sister," her identity was clear.
This was Dark Phoenix Douluo Leng Yulai, Leng Yaozhu's younger sister. Once, she and Leng Yaozhu had been known as the "Phoenix Twins," prodigious sisters inseparable in their talent. But for reasons unknown, the two had fallen out, and Leng Yulai had disappeared from the continent for decades, now resurfacing as a dark soul master.
Anyone who remembered the events from that time would likely be full of mixed feelings if they knew this truth.
As Leng Yulai thought of her sister, Leng Yaozhu, in East Sea City, was also lost in thought. Alone on the spacious second-floor terrace of her villa, she gazed up at the bright full moon. A glass of red wine in hand, she looked distant and somber, murmuring under her breath.
"Are you truly with that organization?"
Just then, her communicator rang, interrupting her thoughts. Surprised, she wondered who could be calling at this hour.
Looking at the screen, her eyes widened in disbelief. "Why is it him?"
She tapped the screen, and a warm, refined voice came through.
"Hello, A'Zhu."
"To what do I owe this call?" Leng Yaozhu's face softened slightly at the familiar voice, teasing, "Is the War God Temple so idle these days?"
"Ha, believe it or not, I'm calling for official business," he replied with a sigh.
"Alright, if His Excellency Yue Tian has something to discuss, I'll cooperate fully," she chuckled, amusement lacing her voice.
"A'Zhu, come on now," the man replied, not the least bit irritated by her banter. "Compared to you, I hardly deserve to be called an 'Excellency'!"
"Fine, fine," she laughed. "So what's this about?"
"Our Eastern Sea region official told me it was you who dealt with the dark Douluo that attacked the train, preventing a far worse threat to the Federation. For that, I'm here to express my thanks on behalf of the people."
"A small gesture," she replied, smiling. "But if you're truly grateful, shouldn't there be more than just words? How about something tangible?"
The man laughed heartily, "Who knew the War God Temple had something valuable enough to interest the Deputy Tower Master of the Spirit Pagoda? Name it! As long as it isn't the Sea God Helmet, I'll consider it."
"Ugh, forget the Sea God Helmet. For us, it's hardly worth anything. What I want is much simpler. In fact, if you hadn't called me, I'd probably have reached out myself in a year or two."
"Oh?" The man's tone grew serious, knowing she wasn't joking. "Go on."
"It's nothing rare," she replied, smiling. "Your War God Temple has a certain black soul spirit. I'd like it."
"A soul spirit?" the man paused, surprised. "Are you serious, A'Zhu?"
"Sacred Unicorn," she stated directly.
The other end of the line fell silent.
"Don't tell me you're unwilling to part with it," she teased.
"No, that's not it," he replied, firmly. "I'm just... surprised and curious. Can I ask what you need the Sacred Unicorn soul spirit for?"
"I took on a disciple, and I want to prepare a spirit for him. Simple as that," she replied.
"A disciple?" he was even more surprised. "Alright, then. If that's the case, you're welcome to take the Sacred Unicorn soul spirit whenever you're ready. It hasn't served much purpose here, anyway."
"I'll pick it up when I can," she said, a hint of warmth in her smile. "Thank you, Guanyue."
"Ha! Do we really need to say thanks?" he laughed. "Let's not forget, we were once comrades who fought side by side."
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