Shrek City, the former site of Shrek Academy.The residual radiation from the twelve-level Godslayer fixed-mounted soul-guided cannon shell had already been completely purified by Yali three months ago.
With massive manpower, resources, and financial support from the Sun-Moon Federation, in just three short months, the former site of Shrek Academy had undergone a complete transformation. One towering building after another now rose from the ground.
According to the Federation's plans, the site of the old Shrek Academy would be developed into a government office complex, perfectly solving the problem of the Federation not having an administrative headquarters in Shrek City.
As for the former site of Tang Sect, it was being converted into a military base.
Once completed, the Blood God Legion would be stationed there.
There were no issues with the Tang Sect site, but the problem was that Shrek Academy had essentially been a city within a city—its area rivaled that of many small to medium-sized cities.
Even if the central region was converted into government buildings, a vast amount of land would still remain unused.
The Sun-Moon Federation decided to parcel out the remaining land into smaller zones and auction them off.
The revenue from the land auctions would go toward rebuilding the Tang Sect site, the Shrek Academy site, and the Cangshan District in Mingdu.
Land in Shrek City was extremely valuable—its prices rivaled, if not exceeded, those of core areas in Mingdu. Despite this, many sects and noble families still scrambled to bid for land.
Even Yali had to exhaust nearly all her savings to win a single plot.
And that was only because many competitors backed down out of respect for her.
Because she spent everything she had on the land, she had no money left for construction. So even Yali had to borrow money from Leng Yaozhu.
Yali was different from Leng Yaozhu. In addition to being the Vice Tower Master of the Spirit Transmission Tower, Leng Yaozhu came from the powerful Leng Clan.
But Yali only had Shrek Academy. After the Academy was disbanded, she was truly alone.
She had never imagined she'd be in a position where she'd need money, so she had never bothered saving any.
When she suddenly needed a large sum, she found herself with no other option than to borrow from Leng Yaozhu.
After completely purifying the residual radiation from both the Shrek Academy and Tang Sect sites, Yali made a decision: she would build a hospital and become an ordinary doctor, staying as far away as possible from the world of power struggles and politics.
When Leng Yaozhu came to find her, Yali was overseeing the interior decoration of her hospital.
By now, construction was nearly finished, and once the decorating was done, it could open.
"Yaozhu-jie, with such a big commotion, I suppose your self-created God Realm is close to success, right?" Yali said with a smile as she saw Leng Yaozhu arrive.
As a quasi-god, she had naturally sensed the recent disturbance.
"All those Limit Douluos are desperate to become gods. The moment anything happens on my end, they can't sit still. Yet here you are, right in Shrek City, and you didn't even come take a look. Isn't that a bit much?" Leng Yaozhu glared at Yali in mock annoyance. She had come looking for her precisely because she hadn't seen her show up.
"I've just been too busy," Yali said with a soft smile, her gaze falling fondly on the nearly finished hospital.
"Too busy? Hah! What could possibly be more important than becoming a god?" Leng Yaozhu rolled her eyes. Seeing the genuine peace in Yali's smile, she could only sigh softly. Maybe this really was the life Yali wanted. "What are you planning to name this hospital once it's finished?"
"I haven't thought about it yet. Why don't you help me pick one?" Yali replied with a hopeful smile.
"It's just a crappy hospital. I'm not wasting brain cells on that. Pick one yourself." Leng Yaozhu shot down the request mercilessly, then asked seriously, "You're a Limit Douluo, and you seriously want to spend your life as just a doctor?"
"A simple life, doing what I love. What's wrong with that?" Yali smiled back, asking rhetorically.
"You're seriously asking me what's wrong?" Leng Yaozhu gave her a mocking look and said with a grin, "If you just work as a doctor, you won't pay off my loan even if you work for a hundred years."
"Yaozhu-jie, you know this is the life I want." Yali's lips twitched at the teasing.
That damn Leng Yaozhu—Limit Douluo and she still nickel-and-dimes her over a loan.
She only borrowed money from her because she respected her!
Didn't she realize that with just one word from Yali, there would be a line of people offering her money—no strings attached?
Hmph!
"Hahaha!" Leng Yaozhu laughed even harder at the look on Yali's face. Only when Yali shot her a glare did she sober up, saying with sincerity, "Yali, you know better than anyone—it's not that easy to retire. As the strongest healing-type soul master in human history, thinking you can just fade away is unrealistic."
"I never said I'd disappear," Yali shook her head with a soft smile. "It's true that I just want to be a regular doctor from now on, but I also understand that's not very realistic. So I'll treat being a doctor as my main job. If the soul master world needs me, I won't turn my back on it."
"In that case, I can rest easy. I actually have something I need your help with." A smile crept across Leng Yaozhu's face. If Yali had resolutely declared she was retiring and wouldn't involve herself anymore, Leng Yaozhu really wouldn't have insisted.
But since Yali left herself open, she had no reason to hold back.
"I knew you wouldn't show up just to say hi. Alright, what is it?" Yali gave her an eye roll, muttering internally, "As long as she doesn't ask me to sleep with her man, I'll agree to anything else."
"Let me ask you something first—do you have the confidence to create your own god position?" Leng Yaozhu asked with a smile.
"No." Yali sighed. Creating a god position wasn't something easy.
If she hadn't obtained the power of creation on Devil Island, she might never have broken through to quasi-god through conventional cultivation.
Let alone create a god seat.
"But I can sense that your understanding of the power of life has already reached the divine level," Leng Yaozhu suddenly turned toward her, eyes sharp.
"That's true," Yali didn't hide it. "But I don't want to become a god. Or maybe it's more accurate to say—I can't."
"Why not?" Leng Yaozhu asked, puzzled.
Yali's expression became complicated. Biting her lip, she said, "Yaozhu-jie, please don't ask. I have my reasons for not becoming a god. It's a decision I've already made. No matter how much you say, it won't change anything."
"Is it because of Xia Yi?" Leng Yaoxu probed.
"If I say no, you probably won't believe me. All I can say is—it's not entirely because of him." Yali took a deep breath, her expression even more conflicted.
"Yali, what are you so afraid of that you can't even tell me?" Leng Yaozhu asked with even greater curiosity.
Yali looked up at her, opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end just shook her head.
"If you've got something to say, spit it out! Don't act all wishy-washy. What the hell are you trying to do?" Leng Yaozhu's tone turned more forceful as she looked at Yali's hesitant expression.