The mech battalion ultimately only stood guard here, waiting for the energy shield to naturally repair itself, and dared not enter the forest to investigate.
Inside the forest, the spirit beasts were even quieter than they had imagined, with none attempting to break out.
The energy shield repaired smoothly, and within a day, it was completely restored.
Many medical personnel arrived at the dam to treat the soul masters who had been scorched.
The fall of the fireball caused great damage to the Tower, with numerous soul masters being burned.
Not to mention the ten black mechs that were completely melted—this alone was enough to make them feel a great deal of pain.
A few days later, the Spirit Tower sent a team to the dam to search for the point where the fireball fell, hoping to figure out what it really was.
The result was a complete loss, with the entire team, including three titled Douluo, perishing in the forest.
This angered the Spirit Tower, and they ordered the forest to be bombarded, demanding that the spirit beasts pay a heavy price.
The bombing lasted for more than three hours, causing nearly 30% of the already sparse trees in the Star Dou Forest to disappear.
A great fire erupted in the forest. If it weren't for Di Tian and others acting in time, the fire would likely have consumed the entire forest.
The spirit beasts did not retaliate, and because of their silence, the matter slowly faded away.
The Spirit Tower did not send anyone into the forest again, and the spirit beasts quietly stayed in the forest, not causing any trouble, as if they were tamed lions.
In fact, were the spirit beasts truly tamed and had lost their wildness?
Of course not. The reason they didn't confront the Spirit Tower head-on was because they didn't want to completely escalate the conflict between the two sides at this moment.
Killing a few of their people and provoking their bombardment had already achieved the desired effect; there was no need to continue.
As for why they provoked the bombardment, that was mainly to cover up the fact that the Life Force of the Spirit Gold was disappearing, and the forest's vitality was rapidly depleting.
Next, they could prepare to leave.
Seven years later, in the western part of the continent, Star Moon City.
Star Moon City was only 500 miles away from the federal capital Mingdu, with a clear geographical advantage, developing rapidly, and was one of the five super cities in the west.
The city was full of towering buildings, with many high-rise buildings of several dozen floors, full of modern atmosphere.
In the center of Star Moon City, in front of the Spirit Pagoda, stood a young boy, gazing up at the thirteen-story Spirit Tower.
The boy was about six years old, of medium height, with delicate features and soft skin. His large, ruby-red eyes sparkled with brilliance.
On his forehead, there was a fiery red mark, in the shape of a phoenix, which perfectly accentuated his face, making it appear flawless.
The boy wore a simple, well-fitted red ancient robe that did not appear excessive at all. His half-long red hair was neatly draped over his shoulders.
Whether it was the fiery red hair or the vintage robe, he wore them both with great ease, making them look perfectly suited to him.
The impression was that this was the way he should dress and wear his hair—had he worn modern clothing and short hair, it would have felt out of place.
The boy's appearance was already extraordinary, but his aura was even rarer. The innate nobility he carried made others feel inferior.
This boy was none other than Yun Ze, who had fallen to the Douluo Continent seven years ago.
After pausing in front of the Spirit Pagoda for a moment, Yun Ze walked into the tower.
Inside the Tower, the space was very spacious, with a marble floor. As soon as Yun Ze entered the door, the soul master sitting behind the counter near the door stood up.
"Little one, this is the Spirit Pagoda. Non-soul masters are not allowed to enter. You should leave right away," the soul master said sternly.
Yun Ze smiled faintly and said, "I'm here to awaken my martial soul." Saying this, he took out a thousand federal coins from somewhere and placed them on the counter.
The Spirit Pagoda helps people awaken their martial souls for free, but only during specific times. Since he had missed that window, he had to pay for the awakening.
The higher the grade of the Tower, the more expensive the fee for awakening a martial soul. In this thirteen-story Spirit Pagoda, the cost for awakening was a thousand federal coins.
The middle-aged soul master looked at Yun Ze in surprise and asked, "Little one, didn't your family come with you?"
"Uncle, please take me to awaken my martial soul," Yun Ze avoided the topic.
Seeing that Yun Ze didn't want to talk about it, the middle-aged soul master stopped asking and handed him a form to fill out.
"Little one, you write very well," the middle-aged soul master complimented. It was hard to believe that this was something a child could write.
For the compliment, Yun Ze only smiled lightly.
"Take the form and hand it to that uncle over there," the middle-aged soul master said, pointing to a room in the hall.
Yun Ze did as instructed, going to the room in the hall and handing the form to another soul master dressed in gray.
"Come with me," the gray-clad soul master led Yun Ze into a spacious room.
The floor, walls, and even the ceiling of the room were adorned with strange and beautiful patterns, emitting some kind of mysterious energy.
Yun Ze immediately recognized that these were simple arrays, designed to guide and assist in the awakening of martial souls.
Following the instructions of the gray-clad soul master, Yun Ze stood in the center of the awakening room. The gray-clad soul master began to activate the awakening array.
As the array was activated, Yun Ze felt an unusual sensation in his body, as if something was about to burst forth.
His left hand slowly opened, and his palm emitted a red light, followed by a rising flame. The temperature in the room started to increase.
"Hmm?" The gray-clad soul master's face showed astonishment as he felt the scorching airwaves.
"Sing!" A sharp phoenix cry rang out as the flame in Yun Ze's hand transformed into the shape of a phoenix, growing in size, spreading its wings and calling out.
The visible heatwaves spread, and the high-temperature air around them twisted slightly. The gray-clad soul master was forced to retreat.
"Fire Phoenix!" The gray-clad soul master summoned his martial soul to counter the heat, and when he saw the fiery phoenix, his eyes widened in shock.
The phoenix was surrounded by red flames, swirling around Yun Ze in a manner that seemed very human-like, showing joy and friendliness.
Yun Ze looked at the phoenix, feeling a strong sense of connection. This phoenix was, in essence, himself—it was a manifestation of his bloodline.
Having been surrounded and attacked by top-tier celestial emperors, although he survived through his innate rebirth ability, he had paid a heavy price for it.
His cultivation from several epochs was lost, and after his rebirth, even his bloodline had been greatly diminished, reducing him to almost an ordinary person. Everything had to be started from scratch.
Upon arriving in this world, due to the restrictions of the world's rules, he could only cultivate according to this world's system.
This meant awakening a martial soul and cultivating soul power, and his martial soul was himself—a phoenix.
There was another unusual fluctuation in his left hand. He knew this was another martial soul, and though he had some guesses, he did not rush to verify it.
"Little one, please put your martial soul away for now, and do as I say..." The gray-clad soul master's attitude had softened considerably.
He was about to instruct Yun Ze on how to retract his martial soul when he saw Yun Ze already skillfully put it away.
(End of chapter)