As the Spirit Pagoda was slowly restoring its public image, the federal fleet was forced to retreat, and the war didn't commence as planned. According to analysts, if both sides were to attack without any regard for consequences, and the federal fleet would also suffer heavy losses, and without a logistic supply chain to support it, it was very likely that the fleet would be completely destroyed by the two empires.

As powerful as the federation was, even it wouldn't be able to handle the loss of its three most powerful fleets. As such, there was no alternative other than to retreat for now.

Even more aggressive proposals had been raised by the Eagle Faction, such as launching the final Godslayer missile to completely eradicate the Star Luo Empire's defensive line. However, such a destructive idea received very little support even in the Eagle Faction, so it was naturally nothing more than a far-fetched idea.

Thus, the Tang Sect had prevented this war from taking place at the expense of being dubbed a treasonous organization.

At the Sea God's Lake.

The clear water of the lake rippled as a gentle breeze blew over its surface.

This was supposed to be an extremely beautiful scene, but there wasn't even a single blade of grass growing around the entire lake. This was a memento left behind by the Godslayer missile.

The destructive energy left behind by the Godslayer missile had extremely potent radiation properties, so the area in a radius of three kilometers around the Sea God's Lake was unsuitable for habitation, and it was very likely that this radiation would linger for as long as a millennium.

This was the most fearsome aspect of a Godslayer missile. If a normal person were to live in this area, they would quickly fall ill and could even die from the radiation. Soul Masters naturally had superior physical resistance, but their health would be affected by living in a place like this as well.

A soul SUV was slowly traveling along the bumpy plain beside the lake, and in the car were five people, two men and three women, all of whom appeared to be in their twenties.

The thick glass of the vehicle and the internal circulation system had effectively kept all of the destructive radiation at bay.

"It's so beautiful, but at the same time, the complete lack of life around it is kind of terrifying," a young woman with a ponytail sighed.

"Indeed. This is why we have to stand against war. Otherwise, if things were to go out of control, another weapon of this caliber could be used," the young man who was driving said in an expression of social justice.

The young man sitting in the passenger's seat sighed, "What a pity; Shrek Academy once stood here! My greatest dream as a child was to become a student of Shrek Academy. Being able to graduate from Shrek Academy would be an immense honor that would immediately make one stand out above everyone else."

A baby-faced woman sitting in the backseat pursed her lips, and said, "You sure make it sound easy! One has to pass an extremely rigorous examination before they get accepted into Shrek Academy, and even after you make it into the academy, you could easily get expelled if you don't live up to the academy's standards. It's said that as long as one graduates from Shrek Academy, they'll thrive in the outside world even if they only barely scraped their way to graduation."

Sitting beside the baby-faced woman was a woman with long hair that trailed down to her shoulders, and she sighed, "Yingying, your father graduated from Shrek Academy, right?"

The baby-faced woman by the name of Yingying replied, "He did! It's the thing that he's most proud of. Didn't your brother also..."

Her voice abruptly trailed off as tears welled up in the long-haired woman's eyes. Indeed, her brother had been a student of Shrek Academy and was the pride of their entire family, but he had disappeared alongside the academy during that calamity. All five of them had come to the Sea God's Lake precisely to mourn for him.

"Don't be sad, Yaping; the perpetrators will definitely suffer terrible fates!" the woman with the ponytail hurriedly consoled.

Yaping pursed her lips as she cast her teary gaze out toward the Sea God's Lake. The number one city and number one academy on the continent had once stood here, and she could still recall how excited her family had been when her brother had been accepted into Shrek Academy.

Her brother was very hard-working and also possessed exceptional aptitude, and he was able to make it into the inner court of the academy. This meant that he would be able to remain in Shrek Academy following his graduation, and that was an immense honor.

He was the pride and joy of the entire family, but who knew that his life would be cut short in such a cruel and abrupt manner?

When her family had received news about the bombing, they had all been in disbelief, and her mother had fainted on the spot. Her father seemed to have aged a decade in a night, and her mother wept for her lost son every single day.

Who could’ve thought that the number one academy that had stood on the continent for 20,000 years would suddenly be erased?

"Do you guys think the Spirit Pagoda is behind this?" the man in the passenger's seat asked with a solemn expression.

The man who was driving hurriedly said in a low voice, "Be careful of what you say! You can say something like this with us, but the Spirit Pagoda is currently at the height of its powers, so don't go around saying this to anyone else."

The man in the passenger's seat harrumphed coldly, "If you ask me, the Spirit Pagoda is definitely behind this. Without their help, how would the Holy Spirit Cult have been able to secure those Godslayer missiles? I heard that the main beneficiary to the bombing was the Spirit Pagoda. It's the only one that remains of the former three super organizations; if the Tang Sect headquarters hadn't been bombed, the federation wouldn't dare to declare it as a treasonous organization!"

"You can say that, but if the Spirit Pagoda invites you to work for them, would you go?" the woman with the ponytail asked.

The man faltered slightly before replying with a slightly awkward expression, "Of, of course not."

However, it was quite clear that he wasn't telling the truth. There was currently no place more popular and revered than the Spirit Pagoda. In particular, its popularity had spiked drastically after it had announced that it was offering jobs to ordinary people.

Yaping wasn't paying attention to the conversation between her friends. She was looking at the placid Sea God's Lake, and she felt as if she could see the image of her brother.

The outside world gradually blurred through her film of tears, yet right at this moment, she abruptly stiffened.

An extremely handsome white-robed figure had suddenly appeared on the surface of the Sea God's Lake, where no life should exist.

Yaping reflexively wiped away her tears. Could it be that she was hallucinating because she missed her brother so much?

However, after she wiped away her tears and refocused her gaze, the figure was still there. On top of that, he was slowly rising up into the air with faint light radiating from his body, and it looked as if he were the core of heaven and earth.

The man in the passenger's seat was the second one to take notice of this, and he immediately yelled, "Look!"

The man who was driving immediately stepped on the brakes to stop the car, and all five of them turned toward the figure who had risen up above the Sea God's Lake in a flabbergasted manner.

Who is that?!

The man in the passenger's seat reflexively picked up his portable soul camera and aimed it toward the lake.

Right at this moment, the white-robed young man slowly pointed a finger up toward the heavens.

A burst of piercing white light erupted upward, looking as if it were going to pierce through heaven and earth.

All of a sudden, the Sea God's Lake began to churn violently, then erupted upward to carry him high up into the air.

The young man made a grabbing motion, and a white spear suddenly appeared in his grasp, following which a voice that was imbued with boundless authority rang out in all directions. "From this day forth, Shrek Academy has been rebuilt!"