Chapter Four: The Spirit Transmission Tower of Mingdu

One hour later, just past six in the early morning.

Though the hour was still early, Mingdu—the political center of the Douluo Federation—was already bustling with a continuous flow of carriages and pedestrians, exuding a scene of prosperity.

In the very heart of the city center, a stretched black spirit-guided car slowly came to a halt before a towering, majestic spire that pierced the clouds.

The driver, clad entirely in black, opened the car door. Xu Zhao stepped out first, lifting his gaze to behold the grand edifice before him.

The Spirit Transmission Tower, the second tallest building in Mingdu.

As for the tallest, that was naturally the Douluo Federation’s Parliament Building.

It was said that when the Spirit Transmission Tower was first constructed, there had been an ambition to make it the tallest structure in Mingdu. During discussions between the Douluo Federation’s Parliament and the tower’s leadership, a condition was set:

If the Spirit Transmission Tower agreed to move its headquarters from Shrek City to Mingdu, the Parliament would grant permission for the tower to claim that title.

However, at that time, the relationships between the Spirit Transmission Tower, Shrek Academy, and the Tang Sect were not as delicate and nuanced as they are today. The then-head of the Spirit Transmission Tower, the patriarch of the Qian Gu family, decisively refused.

Who could have foreseen that the once inseparable three great powers would gradually drift apart due to the emergence of Qian Gu Dongfeng from the Qian Gu family, causing the Spirit Transmission Tower to estrange itself from Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect?

Truly, it was a case of “times change, people change.”

Yet, from another perspective, it could be interpreted as follows:

Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect both represented Tang San, while the Spirit Transmission Tower represented Huo Yuhao.

Tang San himself was capable of tightly binding Huo Yuhao through Tang Wutong, preventing any divided loyalties.

But neither Shrek Academy nor the Tang Sect possessed such an unbreakable tether like Tang Wutong. Due to the nature of soul spirits, they were, in turn, restrained by the Spirit Transmission Tower.

The Spirit Transmission Tower’s monopoly over soul spirits equated to controlling the lifeblood of soul masters.

The Qian Gu family, who held the reins of the Spirit Transmission Tower, easily nurtured ambitions. Even without a figure like Qian Gu Dongfeng—a notorious schemer—there would be others like Qian Gu Xifeng, Qian Gu Nanfeng, or Qian Gu Beifeng.

The Spirit Transmission Tower’s betrayal of Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect was, in essence, Huo Yuhao’s betrayal of Tang San.

And behind this act of betrayal was the subtle influence of the dimensional consciousness, whether it was the original or the usurping Tang Hao.

...

Following his grandfather, Xu Minghuang, with practiced ease, Xu Zhao passed through the VIP entrance and stepped inside the Spirit Transmission Tower.

By the elevator, the waiting receptionist immediately turned at their approach, swiftly opening the doors. With practiced skill, he swiped his access card over the sensor, pressed the button for the top floor, then respectfully saluted and greeted them:

“Master Xu, please come in.”

This elevator was specially designed for direct access to the top floor; aside from the starting point at the tower’s base and the summit, it would not stop at any intermediate floors.

It was the Spirit Transmission Tower’s highest specification reception facility:

For internal use, reserved exclusively for senior personnel;

For external use, serving only “top-tier VIPs.”

The designation “top-tier VIP” carried immense prestige—even many Federation parliamentarians of ordinary standing lacked such qualifications.

The Xu family, a top-tier lineage with millennia of heritage in Mingdu, naturally belonged to this echelon. However, this honor was bestowed specifically upon the family head, Xu Minghuang, rather than all members of the family indiscriminately.

The VIP elevator operated at high speed.

In mere moments, the grandfather and grandson ascended steadily from the tower’s base to its pinnacle.

As the elevator doors opened, Xu Zhao immediately saw a slightly plump elder in a black robe, his hair and beard entirely silver-white, standing sentinel at the exit.

“Heh heh, long time no see.”

Xu Minghuang waved warmly.

“Long time no see? Better if we don’t!” The elder, known as Old Yang, still bore the grumble of just having risen, his tone somewhat sharp:

“You old folks never think of me when things go well, only running here when your younger generation needs soul spirits!”

“Haha, the capable bear the burden. Who else but you, the Spirit Transmission Tower’s current head, could it be?” Xu Minghuang treated his friend’s complaint as routine, feeling no embarrassment, instead slinging his arm over the elder’s shoulder in brotherly camaraderie.

“Enough of that. Tell me, have you selected the soul spirits with spiritual attributes?”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got it covered.”

Old Yang shrugged off Xu Minghuang’s arm brusquely, then cast his gaze upon the quietly observing Xu Zhao, lingering momentarily on the latter’s peculiar eyes that seemed to embody the essence of sun and moon.

“I’ve prepared them already. Follow me.”

The top floor was extraordinarily spacious. The three walked a short distance before arriving at a VIP chamber reserved for receiving guests and absorbing soul spirits.

“Old Xu, you know well,” the elder began bluntly after they were seated, pointing to five glowing orbs suspended over the table:

“Among the great families of Mingdu, those with inherited spirit attribute martial souls are exceedingly rare.”

“Therefore, the Mingdu branch’s inventory of spiritual attribute soul spirits is limited, and those of superior quality are even scarcer.”

“Plus, since you pressed for urgency and there wasn’t time to transfer from headquarters, we’ve only selected these five for now. Take a look and see if any suit your needs? If your grandson doesn’t approve—”

He added, “I can retrieve a detailed catalogue of spiritual attribute soul spirits. Should you find one you desire, I’ll arrange to procure it. But before that...”

Old Yang’s tone shifted, curiosity shining in his eyes.

“Should your grandson first test his spiritual power?”

To be honest, he was very curious.

None of the Xu family’s three major inherited martial souls bore spiritual attributes, nor did Xu Zhao’s mother’s Ye family’s Star Saint Sword relate to spiritual attributes.

The only logical explanation for needing spiritual attribute soul spirits was—martial soul mutation!

Combined with Xu Zhao’s obviously abnormal, sun-and-moon-infused eyes, Tower Master Yang was nearly certain that this young man’s mutated martial soul was “eyes” and must be closely connected to the solar and lunar powers of the Xu family’s martial soul inheritance.

A pair of eyes embodying both sun and moon as a martial soul body would undoubtedly be a top-tier mutated martial soul!

He was eager to know what astonishing level Xu Zhao’s spiritual power had reached with such a supreme martial soul awakened.

“Very well,” Xu Minghuang nodded in agreement.

Having just finished breakfast, he had brought his grandson along before any spiritual power test could be conducted.

This VIP chamber was designed to receive guests and absorb soul spirits, and thus was equipped with spirit-guided instruments for testing spiritual power.

“Xu Zhao, correct?” Tower Master Yang picked up an intricately crafted metal helmet from the instrument rack, leaning down with a gentle tone:

“Come, let Grandpa Yang place this on your head. You might feel a little dizzy afterward, but don’t worry—that’s a normal reaction. Just try to relax.”

Xu Zhao said nothing, his expression calm, quietly allowing the tower master to carefully place the metal helmet upon his head.

A faint humming sound arose, and a soft white light glowed from the helmet’s exterior.

Simultaneously, the spirit-guided display screen connected to the instrument immediately began to flicker rapidly with numbers.

Within moments, the numbers stabilized at a remarkably smooth figure: 499!

“Peak Ling Tong Realm!” The black-robed elder’s voice brimmed with undisguised astonishment.