Sea God Lake.
As Shrek Academy's most important area, Sea God Lake is enormous, occupying roughly one-third of the academy's total area. Its waters are clear, and many Outer Courtyard students gather along its shores. Occasionally, figures can be seen flying in or out of the small island in the center of the lake, each appearance drawing envious cheers from the students by the lake.
Those are Inner Courtyard Disciples.
The Shrek Inner Courtyard can be said to be the place with the largest number of geniuses on the Douluo Continent. Every Outer Courtyard student's ultimate goal is to get into the Inner Courtyard and become a true Shrek person. However, entering the Inner Courtyard is undoubtedly a very difficult task. Under normal circumstances, Outer Courtyard students who wish to enter the Inner Courtyard not only need to meet the Outer Courtyard graduation standard, which is a four-ring Spirit Ancestor, but also need to pass a battle. Only by winning this battle can they enter the Inner Courtyard.
However, this is just the normal method. There is also a special method: possessing talent so high that it piques the interest of the Sea God Pavilion elders, leading them to take you as a disciple. As long as one is accepted as a disciple by these elders, regardless of cultivation level, they are guaranteed to become an Inner Courtyard Disciple.
Of course, such situations are extremely rare. There may be many geniuses, but in any given era, the number of peerless geniuses will never exceed the fingers of one hand.
Lakeside Path.
Zhu Ziyang and the other three walked along the lake. Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya walked in front, while Zhu Ziyang and Yu Beibei followed behind them.
The lake breeze was slightly cool, carrying a faint, moist scent. It gently brushed against their skin, like a mother's tender caress, making them feel very comfortable.
"Ah! How pleasant!" Tang Ya stretched her delicate body languidly, letting out a lazy cry.
"Indeed! This is my first time seeing such a beautiful scenery," Jiang Nannan said softly, a faint smile on her pretty face, her autumn-water-like eyes reflecting the ripples on the lake.
Zhu Ziyang and Yu Beibei walked behind, quietly watching the two girls in front, their mood also quite pleasant.
"Bei Bei?"
As the four reached the middle of the lakeside path, someone suddenly called out to them from behind, or rather, called out to Yu Beibei.
They couldn't help but turn their heads, only to see a woman in her twenties walking towards them. Her black hair cascaded to her waist, her face was delicate, fair, and flawless, and she wore a faint smile. Her gentle and serene demeanor made her unforgettable.
This was a very gentle woman.
This was the unanimous thought of Zhu Ziyang, Jiang Nannan, and Tang Ya. As for Yu Beibei, after this woman appeared, he became completely flustered. Although he tried hard to hide it, the perceptive Zhu Ziyang and the extremely understanding Tang Ya both noticed it.
Bei Bei knows this woman!
They realized.
"Sister Lexuan!" Yu Beibei's reaction confirmed their thoughts. His tone was full of joy and surprise, and a rare hint of admiration flashed across his handsome face.
Tang Ya's expression immediately changed, because Bei Bei had never mentioned this Sister Lexuan to her. Although Tang Ya was confident in her own appearance, facing Zhang Lexuan, this mature, gentle 'big sister' who had a deep relationship with Yu Beibei, she still felt a sense of crisis.
Upon hearing Yu Beibei's address, Zhu Ziyang's heart also stirred, and a name surfaced in his mind.
Senior Sister Zhang Lexuan!
Among the few fragments of "Unrivaled Tang Sect" in his past life memories, Zhang Lexuan's name had appeared in one of them, as the Senior Sister of the Shrek Inner Courtyard.
This woman in front of him must be the Zhang Lexuan mentioned in the book, right? It seems there's a story between her and Yu Beibei!
Zhu Ziyang couldn't help but show a playful smile.
"When did you arrive?" Sister Lexuan walked up to the group, glanced at Zhu Ziyang, Jiang Nannan, and Tang Ya, then spoke to Yu Beibei. Her tone was gentle, like a sister's concern for her younger brother, yet subtly revealing a wife's worry for her husband.
"I arrived yesterday," Yu Beibei replied, looking at Sister Lexuan with a happy expression. "Sister Lexuan, how do you have time to come to the Outer Courtyard?"
"I came out to handle some matters," Sister Lexuan said vaguely. She naturally couldn't say she came specifically to find him. Her eyes, however, drifted to Zhu Ziyang and the other two, lingering on Tang Ya and Jiang Nannan for a moment before she said, "Hello, everyone. I'm Bei Bei's sister."
When Yu Beibei heard Sister Lexuan show interest in Tang Ya and the others, he smiled and said to Sister Lexuan, "Yes, Sister Lexuan, this is Zhu Ziyang, and this is Jiang Nannan, Zhu Ziyang's childhood sweetheart. And this is Tang Ya, I think you should have heard of her. Everyone, this is my sister, Zhang Lexuan, an Inner Courtyard Disciple of Shrek Academy! Sister Lexuan raised me since I was little."
Yu Beibei's tone was a bit shy when introducing Tang Ya, and the last sentence was clearly meant for Tang Ya. Yu Beibei's intuition was still very sharp.
Zhang Lexuan listened to Yu Beibei's introduction, smiling, and nodded to Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan, saying, "Hello."
"Hello," Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan said simultaneously.
Zhu Ziyang calmly observed her, his mind filled with thoughts, while Jiang Nannan looked at Zhang Lexuan with a hint of inexplicable closeness, which even she couldn't quite understand.
When Zhang Lexuan looked at Tang Ya, a ripple appeared in her calm, water-like eyes. She said, "So you're Xiaoya, hello."
"Hello!" Tang Ya responded. Looking at this gentle-tempered woman, she felt a trace of unease. It was the same reason: she had never heard Bei Bei mention that he had an older sister! Moreover, she clearly felt that this older sister's attitude towards Bei Bei seemed a bit strange. This was a woman's intuition!
"Bei Bei, you and this sister catch up first. Nannan and I will go on ahead to look around." Tang Ya felt a bit uncomfortable and spoke up, then pulled Jiang Nannan and walked ahead.
Jiang Nannan was suddenly pulled away, feeling a bit bewildered, and could only look at Zhu Ziyang. Zhu Ziyang naturally wouldn't stay there, so he followed the two girls.
"Xiaoya?" Yu Beibei was a bit confused when Tang Ya suddenly left. He didn't bother talking to Zhang Lexuan anymore, only leaving a quick, "Sister Lexuan, I'll come find you when I'm free, bye for now!" and then hurriedly chased after Tang Ya.
Zhang Lexuan stood rooted to the spot, watching Yu Beibei's anxious expression after he caught up with Tang Ya. For some reason, she felt her heart in turmoil, filled with pain, joy, confusion, and countless indescribable pangs of sorrow. Unknowingly, a cool tear slid down her smooth cheek.
Zhu Ziyang inadvertently looked back and found that Zhang Lexuan had disappeared.
After this interlude, Tang Ya had no more interest in strolling and pulled Jiang Nannan back to the dormitory. Although Jiang Nannan really wanted to continue walking by the lake with Zhu Ziyang, she couldn't bear to see Tang Ya's low spirits. After all, Tang Ya was the first female friend of her age she had made, so she reluctantly said goodbye to Zhu Ziyang.
Zhu Ziyang naturally didn't object to this. Jiang Nannan was not his accessory; as a living person with emotions, she needed one or two friends her age. In Anyang City, due to her extremely high talent, no girls her age were willing to interact with Jiang Nannan, which meant Zhu Nannan only knew Zhu Ziyang as a peer. Now that she was at Shrek Academy, Zhu Ziyang naturally hoped she could make one or two close friends, and Tang Ya, as her roommate, was a very suitable candidate, both in terms of identity and Zhu Ziyang's considerations.
The girls quickly left. Zhu Ziyang and Bei Bei, being two grown men, naturally had no interest in strolling by the lake together, so they also returned to their dormitory.