The Pillar of Heaven
The soul guidance aircraft descended with a whisper, its landing so smooth the transition from sky to ground was a mere sigh. The hatch opened, and Yao Xuan stepped out onto the tarmac of Shrek Academy's private airport, the air of legend filling his lungs.
Shrek City. The name itself was a weight of history and aspiration.
His gaze swept the horizon, not with the blank wonder of a tourist, but with the sharp curiosity of a strategist surveying a new battlefield. The city unfolded before him—a harmonious, breathtaking blend of epochs. Ancient, moss-stoned towers that had witnessed the march of gods stood shoulder-to-shoulder with sleek, spiraling skyscrapers of crystal and alloy humming with silent energy. It was neither the modern canyon of East Sea City nor the ancient monument of Heaven Dou City. It was a dialogue between past and future, a testament to continuous, unbroken excellence spanning twenty thousand years.
Its status was unchallenged. Though not the political capital, it was the undisputed soul of the continent. The reason stood proudly within it: Shrek Academy. The forge of heroes, where the first Shrek Seven Monsters had ascended to divinity, and where even now, the brightest flames of talent were tempered. A third of all living Titled Douluo bore its imprint; their influence was the bedrock of the continent's strength.
And to his left, dominating the skyline, was the other pillar of its might: the Heavenly Spirit Tower.
Even knowing of it, the reality was staggering. A spear of architecture thrust a full kilometer into the sky, an octagonal colossus of pearlescent material that seemed to drink the sunlight and glow with its own inner radiance. It was the tallest structure on Douluo, not by accident, but by law and unspoken accord—a symbol of the Spirit Pagoda's pivotal, quiet dominion. The Federation decreed nothing could surpass it; no other entity possessed the fusion of limitless wealth and transcendent soul technology to even try.
This was the heart of the empire of spirit science. The source of artificial soul spirits, the gateway to the Advanced Spirit Ascension Platform, a political juggernaut holding seven direct seats in the Federal Parliament and influencing countless more. Its Vice Tower Master was his destination.
Gu Yue's quiet voice beside him broke his reverie. "We're here." Her hand found his, a familiar, grounding touch. The luxury sedan that awaited them was plush and silent, gliding into the dense, orderly traffic of the legendary city.
The journey from the airport was a lesson in scale. Shrek City was vast. For nearly an hour they drove through districts that shifted from academic quads buzzing with students in green uniforms, to commercial hubs gleaming with soul tool advertisements, to serene parks where the very air seemed thickened with ambient cultivation energy.
As they drew nearer, the Heavenly Spirit Tower transformed from an impressive skyline feature into an overwhelming presence. Its base was a small mountain of engineered stone. Up close, Yao Xuan could see the surface was not smooth, but intricately patterned with billions of finely etched soul guidance arrays—a continuous, city-sized circuit board. The entire tower was not just a building; it was a single, titanic soul tool. A weapon of unimaginable scale and a temple of research fused into one. He felt a chill that was equal parts awe and grim assessment. 'If activated in anger… it could redefine catastrophe.'
The car slid to a stop at the base of a grand staircase that led up to the tower's entrance. The scale was humbling.
"Yao Xuan," Gu Yue nudged him gently, a small smile on her lips. "Coming?"
"It's even more… monumental up close," he breathed, tearing his eyes from the edifice to look at her.
"I know," she said, her silver eyes reflecting the tower's majestic lines. "Each time I see it, it challenges my understanding of what your people can achieve." There was no resentment in her tone, only analytical respect. She led the way, her steps confident.
They climbed the broad, shallow steps, passing other visitors and functionaries who moved with purposeful haste. The entrance was a majestic arch twenty meters tall and wide, carved with reliefs depicting the history of soul master evolution and spirit research. But the beauty of the art was framed by formidable security.
A full century of guards stood at rigid attention. They were clad not in ordinary armor, but in streamlined, purple-powered exoskeletons—mecha that hummed with a restrained power approaching that of one-word battle armor. Each soldier was festooned with compact, high-yield soul tools. At their head stood a man whose very stillness screamed danger. His armor was more ornate, sealing him in a shell of violet and silver—a three-word battle armor master, a Titled Douluo in his own right. His gaze, hidden behind a visor, swept over the approaching crowd like a physical scan.
This was the public entrance. All visitors, regardless of rank, funneled through here for registration and deep-level security scans. Yao Xuan saw Gu Yue straighten slightly, not in arrogance, but in acknowledgment of the protocol. Even as the protégé of the Vice Tower Master, she would not bypass the rules today, not with an external guest in tow.
They joined the orderly queue. Yao Xuan could feel the potent energy fields washing over him, scanning for concealed weapons, hostile intent, or spiritual anomalies. The Dragon God Slab in his soul sea lay utterly inert, a nine-colored stone at the bottom of a still ocean, offering no ripple for the sensors to catch. His Ancestral Dragon bloodline was a part of his biological essence, indistinguishable from his own life force.
He stood calmly, Gu Yue's hand still in his, their linked fingers a quiet statement of solidarity. The line moved forward with efficient speed. Ahead lay not just a meeting with a legend, but an entry into a new sphere of influence, a test of a different kind. The crucible of Dragon Castle had hardened him. Now, he would see if he could gleam amidst the polished, formidable order of humanity's greatest institution. The Heavenly Phoenix Douluo awaited.