"Teacher, is this really Haiyuan City?" Two years had passed, and Ma Xiaotao's figure was now even more alluring, with graceful, well-defined curves.
She gazed at the towering metal buildings, hundreds of meters high, with an expression of disbelief.
On the streets, soul tool trams glided like nimble fish, emitting a soft hum.
The nearby commercial district was particularly lively, bustling with people, their various shouts and laughter intertwining to form a vibrant tableau of city life.
This entire scene left Ma Xiaotao stunned.
Yan Shaozhe was equally astonished, his lips twitching imperceptibly, his eyes filled with bewilderment.
He found it hard to believe that this city, located on the frontier of the Star Luo Empire, could be so prosperous and flourishing, its vibrancy no less than that of their proud Shrek City.
It was important to remember that Shrek City boasted a long history spanning ten thousand years, and with the added prestige of Shrek Academy, the continent's top academy, it stood among the foremost cities on the entire Douluo Continent, a focal point of attention.
Yet, Haiyuan City, which Yan Shaozhe had visited before, was then merely an ordinary, somewhat old-fashioned coastal town, a stark contrast to its gleaming new appearance now.
What shocked Yan Shaozhe the most was undoubtedly the soul tools visible everywhere in the city. In the past, the original three Douluo nations and Shrek Academy had always held a disdainful attitude towards soul tools.
While they conducted related research, seeing soul tools so widely popularized and integrated into daily life, as was the case in Haiyuan City, was a sight previously only found in the Sun Moon Empire.
Watching the throngs of people, their faces beaming with happiness, Yan Shaozhe couldn't help but sigh with emotion, realizing that the people of Haiyuan City must now be living extremely happy and peaceful lives.
"I truly underestimated that young fellow; he's certainly a competent City Lord." Despite Yan Shaozhe's deep-seated prejudices against soul tools, he had to admit that their emergence had genuinely improved the quality of life for ordinary people.
This fact caused his stubborn beliefs to waver slightly; he began to realize that soul tools were not as useless as he had once thought. Yan Shaozhe couldn't help but recall his own teacher, Mu En, the Dragon God Douluo.
Mu En had always strongly advocated for the development of soul tools, even frequently prioritizing the Soul Tool Department in the academy's resource allocation.
Previously, Yan Shaozhe had been quite perplexed by this, but now, standing in this prosperous Haiyuan City, he seemed to somewhat understand his teacher's past actions, though perhaps he hadn't fully grasped their profound meaning.
Ma Xiaotao's expression was incredibly complex. The thought of soon seeing that "little brat" Lu Jingming, who had been so arrogant and domineering and had infuriated her, made her feel uneasy.
Coupled with the fact that they were here to ask for a favor, and having witnessed Haiyuan City's flourishing appearance, her mood became even more mixed.
"Let's go. We'll pay our respects to the Snow Moon Douluo and that young City Lord," Yan Shaozhe, keenly aware of his disciple's discomfort, chuckled dismissively.
In his view, these minor squabbles between young people were just small interludes in their growth, perhaps even opportunities to deepen their relationship, which was a good thing.
Unbeknownst to them, two years had passed, and Ma Xiaotao had made a significant breakthrough in her cultivation, successfully advancing to the Soul Ancestor realm.
Just before coming to Haiyuan City, she had successfully acquired her fourth soul ring. It must be said that if not for the cold aura inadvertently released by Jingliu two years prior, which suppressed the rampant evil fire within her, combined with the abundant cultivation resources provided by Shrek Academy, she might not have achieved such a rapid breakthrough. It's worth noting that Ma Xiaotao was only thirteen years old at this time.
At this age, many so-called geniuses typically reached only the Soul Elder level at most, and ordinary Soul Masters often struggled to even reach the Grandmaster level.
This clearly demonstrated how astonishing Ma Xiaotao's talent was once she was free from the torment of the evil fire.
It was no wonder that Yan Shaozhe held such high hopes for her, sparing no expense or effort to completely remove the evil fire from her body.
With Shrek Academy's vast intelligence network, Yan Shaozhe had already thoroughly investigated the situation in Haiyuan City upon his return to Shrek Academy two years ago.
It was precisely for this reason that he hadn't rashly come to visit then. It wasn't until today, two years later, when the evil fire in Ma Xiaotao's body flared up uncontrollably again, becoming increasingly critical, that he hastily rushed to Haiyuan City with the precious heavenly treasures he had collected from various places over the past two years.
Recalling their first conflict with Jingliu and her group, Yan Shaozhe knew well that Shrek Academy's usual prestige was completely ineffective against the unfathomably powerful Jingliu.
Therefore, this time, he could only humble himself and seek help with a gentle and modest attitude, even bringing along priceless heavenly treasures.
Thankfully, their initial encounter had only been a minor friction, not escalating into a fierce conflict.
Otherwise, Yan Shaozhe genuinely didn't know what he would have done; he would probably have been left in tears.
Two years on, the City Lord's Mansion, which was once in the center of Haiyuan City, had now been relocated to a seaside cliff, transformed into a cliffside villa, far from the city's hustle and bustle.
The three-tiered cliffside villa's main building spiraled upwards in a conch-like shape, its exterior covered with sea-blue soul tool metal.
The roof was pieced together from hundreds of hexagonal soul tool crystals, absorbing sunlight for energy during the day and projecting starlight at night, condensing the vast starry sky onto this small roof.
In the center of the dome, a small soul tool core was embedded. This core, like the villa's heart, continuously supplied the entire villa with the necessary energy, ensuring that all the soul tool facilities within functioned normally.
Yan Shaozhe and Ma Xiaotao, led by a Golden Guard member entirely enveloped in black soul tool armor, slowly entered this extraordinarily luxurious City Lord's Mansion.
All Golden Guard members wore this uniform black soul tool armor, which was why few people knew the true identities of the Golden Guard.
The moment he stepped into the City Lord's Mansion, Yan Shaozhe couldn't help but secretly marvel. With his extensive experience and knowledge, he naturally recognized the preciousness of the materials used in this villa at a glance.
Both the soul tool metal used as foundational building material and the soul tool crystals replacing traditional roofs were priceless soul tool materials.
Building such a grand and intricately designed cliffside villa would have cost an astronomical sum. After a rough estimate, Yan Shaozhe was certain that it would require at least hundreds of millions of gold soul coins to create such a lavish residence.
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