Tang Ya pulled Yu Beibei towards the dining hall, while Jiang Nannan and Zhu Ziyang walked together towards Sea God Lake.
There was a path around Sea God Lake that was perfect for running, which they had scouted out yesterday during dinner, so they didn't need to find another spot.
Sea God Lake, a landmark area of Shrek Academy, was an irregularly shaped lake with an area one-third the size of the entire Shrek Academy. In the center of the lake was an island, which was where the Shrek Inner Courtyard was located. Along the lake was a path, known as the Lakeside Path, which was about thirty li in circumference. The path was lined with lush vegetation forming small forests, and the air was fresh, making it a sacred place for many Outer Courtyard students to meet.
Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan arrived at the lake. In the early morning, Sea God Lake was shrouded in thick fog, and visibility was very low. There were few people on the Lakeside Path; at this hour, very few students would come here.
"Alright, let's start here," Zhu Ziyang said, taking out two pairs of iron wrist guards from his emerald jade bracelet and handing one pair to Jiang Nannan.
These two pairs of iron wrist guards were both Level Four spirit tools called Gravity Wristbands. They were inscribed with a Spirit Ability called Gravity Control, allowing the wearer to control their own gravity to achieve a weighted effect. The Gravity Wristbands had four settings, which could increase the wearer's gravity to two, three, four, or five times their own weight.
The two pairs of Gravity Wristbands were gifts from Hong Zhen, the Anyang City Lord, to Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan after they both successively reached the Spirit Grandmaster stage. As Level Four spirit tools, and relatively rare cultivation-type spirit tools, the Gravity Wristbands were worth at least one hundred thousand gold coins.
This showed that Hong Zhen had high hopes for Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan.
Currently, with Zhu Ziyang's physical strength, he could withstand five times gravity. For a Spirit Master who was ostensibly a Tool Spirit Spirit Elder, this was absolutely astonishing, as many Beast Spirit Spirit Elders could not endure such gravity.
Jiang Nannan was slightly less capable, only able to withstand three times her own gravity, but even so, the girl's physical strength far surpassed her peers and Spirit Masters of the same rank. This could be seen from her second spirit ring's age, which was as high as nine hundred years.
The boy and girl began running around Sea God Lake.
Two hours later, after two laps around the lake, the two finished their rest and then went to the dining hall for breakfast.
After breakfast, both of them returned to their dorms to shower, then explored the campus of Shrek Academy together, familiarizing themselves with the academy's environment. This would be their home for the next twelve years, or even longer.
Throughout the day, Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan visited every part of the academy, gaining a preliminary impression of Shrek Academy's environment and layout.
—
Another two days passed.
Shrek Academy's enrollment for this year had concluded.
There were seven classes in the first year this session, with a total of six hundred eighty-eight new students, the fewest in the past thirty years.
Today, classes officially began.
Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan finished their run, returned to their dorms to wash up and change into their school uniforms, then met at the dorm building's entrance.
Jiang Nannan was accompanied by her roommate, Tang Ya. The three then waited for Yu Beibei, and together they walked towards the teaching building.
After three days of interaction, Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya had become very good friends. Tang Ya was Jiang Nannan's first friend apart from Zhu Ziyang.
Tang Ya was lively and active, always chattering non-stop, while Jiang Nannan was quiet and gentle. Their personalities were complete opposites, yet these two girls with divergent personalities becoming good friends was quite novel.
Zhu Ziyang and Bei Bei walked behind the two girls. Both of them were deep thinkers and did not know each other very well, so they remained relatively silent.
"Oh, right, Zhu Ziyang, do you want to join our Tang Sect?" Tang Ya, who had been talking to Jiang Nannan, suddenly turned around and asked Zhu Ziyang, "Our Tang Sect is the number one Sect on the continent!"
"I know, the Tang Sect," Zhu Ziyang paused, then said with a smile, "It's said to be the Sect founded by the Thousand Hands Douluo Tang San, one of the Original Shrek Seven Devils who became a god ten thousand years ago!"
"Exactly!" Tang Ya's eyes lit up. She hadn't expected Zhu Ziyang to know the origin of the Tang Sect. In today's declining Tang Sect, very few people knew this. She was very happy and said excitedly, "Then do you want to join our Tang Sect? I can, um, make you the second disciple!"
"No, thank you, I have no plans to join a Sect," Zhu Ziyang said with a smile, politely declining.
It was a joke. With his talent, how could he join a Sect that had been in decline for thousands of years?
"Ah! Alright!" Tang Ya felt a hint of disappointment but didn't dwell on it. She had just been trying, and Zhu Ziyang's refusal was within her expectations, so she said with a smile, "Well, if you ever want to join a Sect, you must prioritize our Tang Sect!"
"I will," Zhu Ziyang nodded, a faint glint in his eyes.
"Xiao Ya, why are there only you and Bei Bei left in your Tang Sect?" Jiang Nannan asked, her face showing curiosity.
As Tang Ya's roommate, Jiang Nannan had naturally also received her invitation, but Jiang Nannan hadn't immediately agreed, saying she needed to discuss it with Zhu Ziyang. Now that Zhu Ziyang had clearly stated he wouldn't join any Sect, she naturally wouldn't either. But that didn't stop her curiosity.
"Alas!" Hearing Jiang Nannan's question, Tang Ya, who usually smiled, uncharacteristically showed a hint of sadness and worry. She said, "To be honest, Nannan, our Tang Sect has long since fallen into decline. Now there are only Bei Bei and I left, and even the old Sect grounds have been taken!"
As she spoke, a flicker of hatred appeared on Tang Ya's delicate face.
"Don't worry, Xiao Ya, we will definitely reclaim the Sect!" Bei Bei stepped forward, took Tang Ya's hand, and comforted her.
"Mhm!" Tang Ya regained her fighting Spirit and said, "You're right, we definitely will!"
Perhaps seeing something similar to herself in Tang Ya, Jiang Nannan also offered encouragement: "That's right, Xiao Ya, you are a student of Shrek Academy now. You will definitely be able to revitalize the Sect in the future."
"Mhm! Thank you, Nannan!" Tang Ya's face showed gratitude.
"Tang Ya, you are the Tang Sect Master, so your Spirit must be Blue Silver Grass, right?" Zhu Ziyang suddenly asked.
"That's right." Tang Ya looked at Zhu Ziyang with some surprise, nodded, and said, "According to our Tang Sect's rules, only a Spirit Master with a Blue Silver Grass Spirit can serve as the Sect Master. But, Zhu Ziyang, why do you ask?"
"Nothing, just pure curiosity," Zhu Ziyang smiled and said, "After all, only your Tang Sect on the continent still has Blue Silver Grass Spirit Masters, and I am very interested in the Blue Silver Grass Spirit."
"This..." Tang Ya was momentarily speechless.
"That's normal." Yu Beibei glanced at Zhu Ziyang, then said with a smile, "After all, the Blue Silver Grass Spirit is very legendary. If it were me, I'd be very curious too."
"Yes," Zhu Ziyang nodded in agreement, stroking his chin thoughtfully, and said no more.
Tang Ya didn't pay attention and resumed talking with Jiang Nannan. Yu Beibei, however, gave Zhu Ziyang a deep look, then lowered his head, pondering something.
The group of four soon arrived at the freshman teaching building.
The freshman teaching building had three floors. The first and second floors housed classrooms, with five classrooms on each floor, each capable of accommodating one hundred students. The third floor contained the teachers' offices, where the homeroom teachers and subject teachers for the freshman classes worked.
The classroom for Freshman Class Four and Freshman Class Five were adjacent, located in the first and second rooms on the far left of the first floor, respectively.
"Bei Bei, we're going in first," Tang Ya said, standing at the door of the Class Four classroom and waving to Bei Bei.
"Mhm! Wait for me after school," Bei Bei said, then walked towards the Class Five classroom on the left.
Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan, along with Tang Ya, entered the classroom. There were already seventy or eighty people inside. Upon seeing the three, all eyes immediately converged on them.
Handsome men and beautiful women—such a combination was always the center of attention, no matter where they went.
Zhu Ziyang didn't mind the gazes of others. He found two empty seats, pulled Jiang Nannan, and sat down.
Seeing this, Tang Ya immediately grew a little angry and said to Jiang Nannan, "Nannan, look at Zhu Ziyang! He didn't even think to find a spot for three people! He's really not a gentleman at all!"
Jiang Nannan looked at Tang Ya, who was stomping her foot in frustration, and said somewhat apologetically, "I'm sorry, Xiao Ya. You'll have to find another seat yourself."
"No, I must sit with you!" Tang Ya said firmly.
Then, a scene that left both Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan dumbfounded occurred.
Tang Ya actually directly pulled the girl sitting on Jiang Nannan's other side aside, then chattered a whole bunch, and in the end, that girl actually gave up her seat without any resistance!
This move left both Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan stunned. Was this the legendary 'making friends easily'?