Hearing Mu En's voice, Zhu Ziyang had no choice but to abandon the idea of entering the mental force space now, deciding to wait until he returned to the Outer Courtyard. After all, Electrolux was in his mental force sea and wouldn't get lost.
The roots of the Golden Ancient Tree connected to the Sea God Pavilion. After Zhu Ziyang entered the tree hollow, he went directly into the Sea God Pavilion and met Mu En.
Mu En, sensing Zhu Ziyang's entry into the Sea God Pavilion, raised his head from the wooden chair he was lying on, his eyes slightly open. He looked at Zhu Ziyang, and this gaze immediately made him let out a relieved laugh, saying, "Very good, very good! Formless mental force with substance, 38th-rank spirit power. Good child, you truly surprise this old man."
"Teacher, you flatter me." Zhu Ziyang first politely demurred, then smiled, "Hehe, I also didn't expect to break through so smoothly."
"This is truly a blessing of destiny!" Mu En sighed with emotion and said with a smile, "Alright, you've been in seclusion for over a month. Go see Nannan. That girl comes to inquire almost every day; I'm practically a messenger now."
"It's been that long!" Zhu Ziyang was astonished. Then, hearing Mu En's words, he couldn't help but laugh, "Hehe, Teacher, I'm heading back to the Outer Courtyard now."
"Mm, go." Mu En nodded and said, "I'll give you three days to rest. Come find me here after three days."
"Yes." Zhu Ziyang didn't rush to ask about Mu En's intentions, nor did he need to. After agreeing, he turned and left.
—
As Zhu Ziyang left the Sea God Pavilion and walked down the Golden Ancient Tree, he encountered Jiang Nannan.
At this moment, Jiang Nannan was standing in front of a wooden house, with a gentle woman in her early twenties beside her. The two were chatting and laughing, their relationship very close.
Zhang Lexuan, the Inner Courtyard's head disciple, the youngest Spirit Saint in Shrek Academy's Inner Courtyard history, was rumored to be on the verge of breaking through to Spirit Douluo. After Zhu Ziyang became Mu En's disciple, he had met her a few times. Their relationship was neither distant nor close, merely ordinary, as there hadn't been many opportunities for interaction.
Zhu Ziyang was very puzzled. In just over a month, Jiang Nannan had become so close with Zhang Lexuan? This was a bit too outrageous. Was girls' friendship so easily formed?
"Nannan." Zhu Ziyang called out.
"Ah?" The girl, hearing someone call her, instinctively responded. Then, following the sound, she saw her Yang-ge, whom she thought about day and night, and immediately jumped up excitedly, her crimson eyes filled with excitement and joy, "Brother!"
The girl instantly rushed to Zhu Ziyang and hugged him. Zhu Ziyang also wrapped his arms around the girl's soft waist, feeling her fervent affection.
On the other side, Zhang Lexuan looked at the two embracing tightly, a knowing smile on her face. In her mind, a sunny smiling face involuntarily flashed, and while her heart felt warm, a hint of bitterness inevitably arose.
"Sister Lexuan, my brother and I are going back to the Outer Courtyard now. I'll come find you to play when I have time!" Jiang Nannan didn't notice Zhang Lexuan's thoughts. At this moment, her heart was already filled with Zhu Ziyang. She smiled and waved goodbye to Zhang Lexuan.
"Okay." Zhang Lexuan smiled gracefully and replied.
Zhu Ziyang also smiled and nodded to Zhang Lexuan, then, with his arm around Jiang Nannan's waist, walked towards the Outer Courtyard.
"Nannan, how did you become so familiar with Zhang Lexuan?" Zhu Ziyang couldn't suppress his curiosity and asked.
"Hehe, actually, there's no particular reason; I just feel a sense of familiarity when I see her." Jiang Nannan giggled and said, "At first, she and I were just nodding acquaintances. Every time we met, we'd just say hello and leave. Then one time, Sister Lexuan initiative told me that she felt I was very familiar, and that's when I realized we both felt the same way about each other. We were both very puzzled until I accidentally learned that Sister Lexuan's Spirit was actually the Moon Spirit, and then I understood the reason."
"What? Moon Spirit!" Zhu Ziyang was very shocked to hear Jiang Nannan's words.
He finally understood why Zhang Lexuan could achieve Spirit Saint at such a young age, in her early twenties.
She actually possessed the Moon Spirit!
The Moon Spirit, a super Spirit, possessed the power of the moon, extremely yin and gentle, a top-tier Spirit among yin-soft attribute Spirits. Although not an ultimate attribute, it was in no way weaker than an ultimate Spirit. Its Spirit Master could use the power of the moon to strengthen themselves, gaining immense help in both cultivation and battle.
Zhu Ziyang truly hadn't expected Zhang Lexuan to possess the Moon Spirit. As far as he knew, the Moon Spirit was one of the three super Spirits on the Sun Moon Continent, and this type of Spirit simply didn't exist on the original Douluo Continent. In that case, wasn't Zhang Lexuan from the Sun Moon Empire? Moreover, the Sun Moon Royal Family's secret records he had read mentioned that the Sun Moon Empire was called the Sun Moon Empire precisely because the inherited Spirits of its Royal Family were the Sun Spirit and the Moon Spirit!
Currently, among the Sun Moon Empire's Royal Family, the three inherited Spirits seemed to have only the Sun Spirit left. The Moon Spirit's inheritance had already died out centuries ago, and the Purple Radiance Heaven Dragon Spirit also seemed to have not appeared for decades. The current Sun Moon Empire's emperor's Spirit was the Sun Spirit.
Thus, Zhang Lexuan was very likely a descendant of the Sun Moon Empire's Royal Family.
A Royal Family blessed by the three super Spirits—Sun, Moon, and Purple Radiance Heaven Dragon—no wonder the Sun Moon Empire had always been ruled by the Xu family, and the domestic nobles dared not resist. As long as the possessors of these three Spirits didn't die, they were bound to become Titled Douluo. One can imagine how terrifying the Sun Moon Royal Family's heritage was.
In comparison, the Star Crown of the Star Luo Royal Family, the former White Tiger, the Swans of the Heaven Dou Royal Family and Dou Ling Royal Family, and the Snow Lotus of the Heaven Soul Royal Family all seemed much inferior.
"Brother, Brother!" Jiang Nannan's dissatisfied shouts came from beside him. The girl pouted and said, "Did you even listen carefully to what I was saying!"
"Yes, yes, I did!" Zhu Ziyang snapped out of his thoughts and quickly replied to the girl, saying, "I was just very surprised that Zhang Lexuan actually has the Moon Spirit."
"Right? I was very surprised at first too." Jiang Nannan agreed, "I didn't even know that the Moon Spirit existed on the Continent. Could the Sun Spirit also exist?"
The girl said it half-jokingly, unaware that it was a prophecy come true. Zhu Ziyang smiled and said, "You're right, there really is a Sun Spirit, you know."
"No way, I just said that casually." The girl's small mouth dropped open, looking at Zhu Ziyang in disbelief.
"The current Sun Moon Empire's emperor is the Sun Spirit." Zhu Ziyang said with a smile, reaching out to pinch the girl's smooth, silky hair, "Don't be surprised anymore, we're crossing the lake."
"Oh, oh!" The girl reined in her surprise and quickly jumped onto the ferry, hugging Zhu Ziyang's arm.
The two returned to the Outer Courtyard.
"The reason you and Zhang Lexuan feel a mutual sense of familiarity is mostly due to the connection between your Spirits," Zhu Ziyang analyzed. "Your Taiyin Jade Rabbit Spirit and her Moon Spirit can be said to be very compatible. Being on good terms with her is very beneficial for your Spirit."
"Brother, how can you say that? Even if Sister Lexuan's Spirit wasn't the Moon Spirit, I would still befriend her, because Sister Lexuan is such a gentle person." Jiang Nannan said with a smile.
"Yes, yes, I was being petty, alright." Zhu Ziyang helplessly ruffled the girl's silver hair and said.
"No, you weren't, Brother. You're just looking out for me!" Jiang Nannan giggled, hugging Zhu Ziyang's arm and pouting playfully.
"Oh, right, during my seclusion, did Yu-ge know about it? Also, has anything happened in class these past two months?" Zhu Ziyang inquired.
"During the month you were in seclusion, the class was quite stable." Jiang Nannan tilted her head, thought for a moment, and said, "The day after you went into seclusion, Dean Yan notified Yu-ge. I remember Yu-ge was excited for a whole day. As for what happened, Bei Bei broke through to rank 29 and apparently got a Soul Ascension Pill from his family, so he's already rank 30. He asked Yu-ge for leave two days ago to hunt for his third spirit ring."
"Is that so?" Zhu Ziyang heard this and wasn't surprised, after all, Bei Bei's talent and family background were evident. He suddenly thought of a question: what was the relationship between Bei Bei and Zhang Lexuan? Bei Bei was undoubtedly a descendant of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, and Zhang Lexuan's Moon Spirit indicated she had Sun Moon Empire blood. These two couldn't possibly be siblings, could they?
Curiosity.
"And then there's Xiaoya, she reached rank 27." Jiang Nannan added at the end.
"Huh? Why didn't you mention yourself?" Zhu Ziyang asked, puzzled.
"Hehe, I was saving myself for last, you know," the girl giggled and said, "During this month, Teacher and Sister taught me so many things that I didn't even have time to cultivate. I'm still rank 34, hehe."
Of course, Jiang Nannan wouldn't say that she was too busy thinking about Zhu Ziyang to cultivate.