Chapter 12: Eternal Qiangu, Spreading Spirits Across the World!
[Douluo 2 Era]
A deathly silence spread throughout Shrek.
Cheating, murder...
These labels, like the most vicious brands, were seared onto the faces of every student at Shrek Academy.
A ten-thousand-year reputation had become riddled with holes in a short period of time.
However, this was not yet the end.
Above the sky screen, golden light flowed, erasing all the images of cheating.
Replacing them was the third and final reason for being on the list.
A line of cold, golden characters slowly emerged.
It was as if it were the final sentence for Wang Yan.
[Finally, explaining the third reason for making the list:]
[Duality of character, intent to subvert]
Everyone's hearts suddenly leaped into their throats.
Subvert?
What did he want to subvert? Shrek Academy?
Did he succeed?
...
Above the sky screen.
Under the gaze of billions, a picture of the future, far beyond the imagination of everyone in both eras, slowly unfolded.
[Ten thousand years later.]
Above the sky screen, a magnificent giant city first appeared, where technology and Soul Power blended perfectly.
Rows of skyscrapers pierced the clouds, and countless peculiar soul-guided vehicles shuttled through the air, forming a brand-new picture of the World.
In the very center of this futuristic giant city, an indescribably massive white tower pierced the sky like a sword reaching for the heavens.
[At this moment, the landscape of the continent had long since changed.]
[The once number-one power on the continent, Shrek Academy, no longer held its former glory.]
[Replacing it was this—the Spirit Pagoda!]
[An organization that controlled the lifeblood of all Soul Masters on the continent, truly the number one organization!]
These few lines of text were like a heavy hammer, smashing ruthlessly into everyone's hearts!
...
[Douluo 2 Era]
Shrek Academy, inside the Sea God Pavilion.
Yan Shaozhe and the others' pupils shrank suddenly as they cried out, "Impossible!"
Shrek... was actually replaced?
For ten thousand years, no matter how eras changed, even during the peak of the Sun Moon Empire, Shrek remained an unshakable holy land in the hearts of Soul Masters!
But ten thousand years later, they had actually fallen from grace?
...
Inside Mingde Hall of the Sun Moon Empire.
The smile on Jing Hongchen's face also froze.
He wasn't shocked that Shrek was replaced, but that the one replacing Shrek wasn't their Sun Moon Empire!
Just what kind of entity was this so-called "Spirit Pagoda"?
...
[Douluo 2 Era]
Spirit City, The Pope's Palace.
Bibi Dong looked at that magnificent giant tower, her eyes filled with shock and resentment.
"Ten thousand years later... the World of Soul Masters has actually developed to such a degree..."
"Regrettably, the one ultimately ruling the World is no longer my Spirit Hall..."
Tang San, Yu Xiaogang, and the others were even more shaken.
"Spirit Pagoda... just what kind of powerful force is this?"
The images on the sky screen gave them the answer.
...
The images delved deep into the interior of the Spirit Pagoda, showing its power to the World.
[The Spirit Pagoda monopolized a technology called 'Spirits,' which completely replaced Soul Beasts and Soul Rings, controlling the path of advancement for all Soul Masters!]
[Whoever controlled the Spirit Pagoda controlled the future of all Soul Masters in the World.]
[And the one controlling this behemoth was a single surname—]
[Qiangu!]
[The supreme rulers of the Spirit Pagoda were the Qiangu Clan.]
The perspective of the images slowly moved deeper into the interior of this giant tower.
Passing through countless heavily guarded corridors filled with a sense of future technology, it finally arrived at a simple and solemn ancestral hall.
[This was the core forbidden area of the Spirit Pagoda, the ancestral hall of the Qiangu Clan.]
In the center of the hall, no gods were enshrined; instead, a tall white jade statue stood there.
The statue was of a gentle and elegant young man, wearing glasses and holding a Coiling Dragon Rod, his gaze deep as he looked into the distance.
It was none other than Wang Yan!
Beneath the statue, several men and women dressed in luxurious clothes and possessing extraordinary temperaments were bowing to the statue.
The middle-aged man leading them had an aura as deep as an abyss and as steady as a mountain, clearly a powerful figure of high status.
["Qiangu Dieting, leading my descendants to pay respects to our ancestor, Wang Yan!"]
["May our ancestor's holy spirit protect our Qiangu Clan to be eternal and spread spirits across the World!"]
...
"Boom!!!"
Everyone's brains completely short-circuited at this moment!
That hypocrite they had cursed, despised, and judged, that disgrace of Shrek Academy...
Ten thousand years later, he was actually treated like a god, with a statue erected for worship!
...
The sky screen was not affected in the slightest by the shock across the continent.
It continued to play.
["Father, why do we have to come and worship this ancestor every year?"]
After bowing, a youth who looked no more than a dozen years old asked curiously.
The middle-aged man leading them turned around, his eyes filled with endless reverence and pride.
["Dongfeng, you must remember."]
["The reason our Qiangu Clan, and all our clansmen, can be where we are today, standing at the peak of this continent, is all thanks to this ancestor!"]
["The history books only record that Ancestor Teacher Wang Yan was one of the founders of the Spirit Pagoda."]
["But in the secrets of our genealogy, the true history is recorded."]
The middle-aged man's voice, through the sky screen, clearly reached the ears of everyone in both eras.
["Back then, Ancestor Teacher Wang Yan, by his own strength, endured humiliation and bided his time at Shrek."]
["Ancestor completed his initial plan at Shrek Academy, not only successfully awakening the Spirit True Soul 'Heaven-Awakening Saint Golden Dragon' but also rediscovering the method to awaken True Souls."]
["Furthermore, he planted countless seeds within Shrek."]
["Later, amidst the chaotic World, he seized the opportunity of the rise of Spirit technology and joined the newly founded Spirit Pagoda as a 'Grandmaster of Spirit Theory.'"]
["With the profound knowledge and unparalleled strategy he accumulated at Shrek, he quickly stood out within the organization and rose to a high position!"]
["Then, the first thing he did was fulfill his childhood oath."]
A proud smile appeared on the middle-aged man's face.
["Using his position, he utilized the Spirit Pagoda's intelligence system to find, one by one, those Spirit Hall compatriots who were hiding in dark corners of the continent, barely surviving like rats crossing the street!"]
["He gave them new identities and the best resources, making them and their descendants a part of the Spirit Pagoda."]
["Even a dog could become a watchdog for the Spirit Pagoda!"]
["He allowed all descendants of Spirit Hall to live once again under the sun with dignity!"]
["Later on, our clansmen were spread throughout every department of the Spirit Pagoda!"]
["Then, came the seizure of power."]
["Ancestor Teacher Wang Yan, using his control methods derived from the Holy Spirit Cult, joined forces with our clansmen, moving cautiously and forming alliances, gradually hollowing out the old forces of the Spirit Pagoda."]
["Finally, at an opportune moment, he launched a lightning strike, uprooting all opposing forces!"]
["The Spirit Pagoda completely became the Spirit Pagoda of our Qiangu Clan!"]
["From that day on, our Qiangu Clan became the new rulers of the continent!" ]
["Ancestor fulfilled all of his promises!"]
["And Shrek..."]
["That hypocritical academy that once stood high above, trampling us underfoot and slaughtering us at will, can now only barely survive under our suppression!"]
["We suppressed Shrek's recruitment, snatched their rare resources, and supported their enemy forces..."]
["The methods Shrek once used against us have been returned to them a hundredfold, a thousandfold!"]
["Their geniuses need to beg for our Spirits to advance!"]
["Their dignity has been completely crushed by us!"]
["The glory of Spirit Hall is inherited by my Qiangu Clan, ruling the World once again!"]
["Ancestor spent his whole life completing a grand plan for revenge!"]
["And he succeeded!"]
["He, by his own strength, subverted the era created by Tang San and Shrek!"]
The middle-aged man's voice was extremely impassioned as he pointed at the statue and admonished his son and all descendants:
["Remember this quote from our ancestor: 'A great power is never easily toppled by external enemies; it only begins to rot from within.'"]
["You all need to take this as a warning, do you understand?"]