The more Zhu Ziyang thought about it, the more absurd it seemed.
Forget the Blue Silver Grass Soul Masters—even Soft Bone Rabbit Soul Masters were no better. The two kinds of Soul Masters were like a pair of tragic fools, each more misguided than the other.
If Jiang Nannan hadn't met Zhu Ziyang, she likely would've followed the same path as the typical Soft Bone Rabbit Soul Master. After all, the standard soul beasts for the first five soul rings of that martial soul were widely known across the soul master world.
"Nannan, do you know what kind of development path your Soft Bone Rabbit martial soul is suited for?" Zhu Ziyang asked.
"Mm… my martial soul is a rabbit. Rabbits are fast and jump high, so I think it should be suited for the agility-attack path," Jiang Nannan replied after thinking for a moment. She had learned the term "agility-attack" from Zhu Ziyang.
"Exactly." Zhu Ziyang nodded. As expected, geniuses were just different. Even at six years old, Jiang Nannan already had more awareness than most Soft Bone Rabbit Soul Masters in history.
But soul master classification alone wasn't enough, he thought.
To walk farther on the path of cultivation, a soul master had to determine a clear goal for their martial soul's evolution and choose a proper route to get there.
The Soft Bone Rabbit martial soul belonged to the pure rabbit category—it lacked any beastly bloodline and had no elemental affinity. That meant it could only evolve into more advanced forms of rabbit-type martial souls, and it couldn't absorb elemental soul rings.
All things considered, it was truly an ordinary martial soul.
Choosing soul rings for such a basic martial soul was genuinely difficult. Fortunately, Zhu Ziyang wasn't just anyone—he had already mapped out a full evolution route for Jiang Nannan's martial soul.
In an ancient book from twenty thousand years ago, he had read about a soul beast called the Jade Rabbit. It was said to be a supreme-grade soul beast, the sovereign of the moon, possessing the power to control moonlight and move with speed beyond even shadows. Among rabbit-type soul beasts, it was the only one classified as a super-grade soul beast—known as the ancestor of all rabbit types and their ultimate evolution goal.
Unfortunately, Jade Rabbits had gone extinct. The continent had never seen a soul master with the Jade Rabbit martial soul.
Nowadays, rabbit-type soul beasts were mostly mundane or feral. The only rabbit-type soul beast that could barely be called high-grade was the Moonshadow Rabbit. That was precisely the target Zhu Ziyang had chosen as Jiang Nannan's first soul ring.
In his plan, Jiang Nannan would begin by absorbing a Moonshadow Rabbit ring, awakening the lunar bloodline within her Soft Bone Rabbit martial soul. From there, she would gradually absorb other moon-bloodline soul rings to strengthen her lineage, ultimately pushing her martial soul to evolve into the Jade Rabbit.
It was a long-term and highly ambitious plan—but one that suited both their interests perfectly. Even if she failed to reach the level of a super martial soul, her future achievements would still be extraordinary.
Zhu Ziyang shared his plan with Jiang Nannan.
"I'll follow you, Brother. I trust you!" Jiang Nannan responded immediately and earnestly.
"Great. Then we'll leave tomorrow," Zhu Ziyang said proudly. Nothing pleased a man more than a beauty's absolute faith. "The Moonshadow Rabbits live in the outer regions of the Northern Mountain Range—we don't have to go far."
"Okay!" Jiang Nannan beamed, her eyes curving into crescent moons.
Moonshadow Rabbits were incredibly fast rabbit-type soul beasts. They had the largest bodies among all rabbit breeds and were agile in movement, typically active at night. They were the favorite prey of the high-grade soul beast, the Darkfeather Ghost Carving—yes, prey. Moonshadow Rabbit meat was delicious and energy-rich, making them a favored target for all large predatory birds. Their fate was truly unfortunate.
But that didn't mean Moonshadow Rabbits were useless. They could absorb moonlight to enter a semi-illusory state, dramatically boosting their speed and agility to escape danger. Thousand-year-old Moonshadow Rabbits could even awaken a soul skill called Phantasm, said to be extremely effective.
What Zhu Ziyang valued most was precisely this moonlight-powered acceleration. If Jiang Nannan could awaken her lunar bloodline while also obtaining that skill, it would be a tremendous gain. That was why the Moonshadow Rabbit was his top pick for her first soul ring.
The outer area of the Northern Mountain Range had few large predators and was home to many Moonshadow Rabbits, mostly ten-year beasts, but also a decent number of hundred-year ones—surely enough to find one suitable for Jiang Nannan.
The next day, the two of them asked their teacher for leave. When the teacher learned they were going to hunt for a soul ring, he agreed without hesitation. Their homeroom teacher was familiar with Zhu Ziyang and knew his parents were Zhu Changhe and Liang Ying, so he didn't insist on academy accompaniment.
While on the road back to Beihe Village, they ran into Zhu Changhe and Hong Zhen.
"Eh? Xiaoyang? Why aren't you in class? What are you doing out here?" Hong Zhen asked, surprised to see them.
"Father, Uncle Hong," Zhu Ziyang greeted politely, then explained, "Nannan broke through to rank 10. I was hoping you could help us hunt a soul ring for her."
"What?" Both Zhu Changhe and Hong Zhen looked at Jiang Nannan in astonishment. She blushed and nodded shyly.
"Excellent. Another genius!" Hong Zhen chuckled, his rugged face breaking into a simple smile. Then he turned to Zhu Changhe. "Brother Changhe, I'll leave it to you to help your future daughter-in-law get her soul ring. I'll head back."
He was half-joking. His family had always been close to the Zhu family, and their bond had only deepened since Zhu Ziyang awakened his martial soul. He was well aware of Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan's relationship and was happy to see two talented children growing so close.
Jiang Nannan's cheeks flushed crimson.
"Mm. Take care, Brother Hong," Zhu Changhe nodded calmly.
"Goodbye, Uncle Hong!" Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan called out in unison.
After Hong Zhen left, Zhu Changhe turned to his son and asked, "So you've already planned everything? If it's far, we should go home and prepare some dry rations."
"It's not far—just the outer Northern Mountains," Zhu Ziyang replied. "We should be able to find what we need easily. No need to go home, and I've already packed supplies."
He raised his hand and showed the emerald jade bracelet on his wrist. It was a spatial soul device with about one cubic meter of space—more than enough to store food and books.
"Oh? You've really thought it all through. What kind of soul beast are we hunting?" Zhu Changhe asked curiously.
"Moonshadow Rabbit," Zhu Ziyang replied.
"Huh?" Zhu Changhe was visibly puzzled. "Isn't Nannan's martial soul the Soft Bone Rabbit? Isn't the standard first ring supposed to come from a Softmist Serpent?"
"That's the wrong path. The soul ring I chose is the right one," Zhu Ziyang said arrogantly, his expression practically glowing with confidence. Zhu Changhe couldn't help but want to smack his cocky son—clearly none of his earlier advice had stuck.
"Fine. Let's go, then." Zhu Changhe managed to restrain the urge to lecture him and simply nodded.
The trio quickly set off toward the Northern Mountains.
(End of Chapter)
---
This Fanfiction Has Been Completed on Patreon, There is 2 Chapters Ahead of Release for Free Memebers on my Patreon.
Support me if you like this Fanfiction.
Patreon,com/Fallen_Archangel_
(Remove comma for dot.)
Leave a 5 star Review and a Power Stone.