Zhu Ziyang didn't attend class that day. After briefly informing Jiang Nannan, he headed straight for Sea God Island.
Sea God Pavilion.
"Hmm?" Mu En sensed Zhu Ziyang's presence and was momentarily puzzled. But when the boy entered, realization dawned and his voice carried a tinge of delight.
"Ziyang, have you broken through?"
"Yes!" Zhu Ziyang nodded confidently.
"Good, good, good!" Mu En said three times in a row, joy showing plainly on his aged face. "You really didn't let me down. Very good. Have you thought about your fourth soul ring yet?"
"Not yet," Zhu Ziyang replied with a shake of his head.
Since his martial soul had already reached the level of a Super Martial Soul, he no longer needed to follow conventional logic when choosing soul rings. Any soul beast that suited him could work — it didn't have to be light-attribute anymore. Unless it was another Ultimate Attribute beast, any light-type soul beast would have the same effect on enhancing his Stillness Fate Ending Scythe.
"I see. In that case, go find your Senior Brother and have him take you to hunt a soul ring," Mu En said with a smile.
"Alright." Zhu Ziyang nodded and took his leave.
After leaving the Sea God Pavilion, he found Yan Shaozhe atop the golden ancient tree. Once Zhu Ziyang explained his reason for coming, Yan Shaozhe looked surprised.
"Junior Brother, you never fail to surprise me," Yan Shaozhe chuckled. "As it happens, a group of inner courtyard students is also going soul ring hunting today. I'll take you to join them — you can go to the Star Dou Forest together."
"Sure, no problem." Zhu Ziyang agreed after a brief moment of thought. Since he would eventually join the inner courtyard anyway, getting to know more of its students in advance could only help.
"Good. Follow me."
Yan Shaozhe brought Zhu Ziyang to Sea God Plaza, where more than ten inner courtyard disciples had already gathered. Leading them was Zhang Lexuan. Standing ahead of the group was the Glutton Douluo — Xuanzi.
When Xuanzi noticed Yan Shaozhe and Zhu Ziyang arriving, a flash of surprise crossed his eyes.
"Shaozhe? Ziyang? What brings you two here?"
"Senior Xuan, Ziyang also needs to hunt a soul ring. Please bring him along," Yan Shaozhe explained.
"Senior Xuan!" Zhu Ziyang greeted respectfully.
"Is that so?" Xuanzi paused mid-bite on his chicken leg, then said, "Alright, go over to Lexuan and get acquainted with the others."
"Yes, sir!" Zhu Ziyang replied and walked toward the inner courtyard disciples.
"I've delivered him safely, Senior Xuan. I'll leave the rest to you." Yan Shaozhe nodded and took his leave.
"Hmph! That brat — always giving me trouble," Xuanzi muttered, then looked over at the gathered students.
As Zhu Ziyang approached the group, the inner courtyard students turned their attention toward him. There were twelve in total. Besides Zhang Lexuan, he only recognized one person — Ma Xiaotao.
"Ziyang, over here!" Ma Xiaotao's eyes lit up the moment she saw him, and she waved enthusiastically.
In the past six months, their relationship had grown much closer. Zhu Ziyang had only helped suppress her Evil Fire twice during that time — all other episodes were overcome by Ma Xiaotao through sheer force of will. Her determination was nothing short of astonishing.
"Sister Xiaotao." Zhu Ziyang walked over to her.
The other inner courtyard students watched him with great curiosity. His age, his outer courtyard uniform, and the fact that Yan Shaozhe had personally brought him over — all of it stirred their interest. Everyone loves gossip, after all.
"You broke through too?" Ma Xiaotao's beautiful eyes sparkled with shock and delight.
"I just broke through this morning. You too?" Zhu Ziyang smiled.
"Hehe, I broke through a few days ago. We waited until today to go ring hunting together," Ma Xiaotao replied with a playful smile.
"I see." Zhu Ziyang nodded, then looked at the surrounding students and asked, "Are all of them here for soul rings?"
"That's right," Ma Xiaotao replied. "It's an inner courtyard tradition. Whenever students need to hunt soul rings, they apply through the academy. All students needing rings during that period are grouped together, and a supervising elder leads them to the Star Dou Forest."
"But what if only one student needs a ring at the time? They wouldn't keep waiting, right?" Zhu Ziyang asked.
"Don't worry, the academy has accounted for that. If fewer than five students need rings within a half-month period, they'll still organize a group and send an elder to lead them," Ma Xiaotao explained.
"Got it," Zhu Ziyang nodded. "So Elder Xuan is our team leader this time?"
"Exactly."
At that moment, a clear-faced young woman around eighteen or nineteen years old approached them, curiously inspecting Zhu Ziyang.
"Xiaotao, who's this handsome little guy? Could he be Elder Yan's new disciple?" she asked.
"Senior Ming, this is Zhu Ziyang — he's still in the outer courtyard," Ma Xiaotao introduced. "Ziyang, this is Senior Sister Wu Ming."
"Hello, Senior Sister." Zhu Ziyang greeted her with a smile.
"Such a polite little brother. So, do you have a girlfriend? What do you think of big sister here?" Wu Ming's eyes sparkled as she teased, her expression downright smitten.
Zhu Ziyang was speechless. Ma Xiaotao's expression also darkened as she yanked Wu Ming away.
"Senior Ming, seriously? He's only twelve!"
"Oops… Sorry! I'm just in a rush, you know!" Wu Ming said awkwardly.
Before Ma Xiaotao could reply, a clap sounded from Elder Xuan's direction. All idle chatter ceased immediately as the students turned their attention toward him.
"Good, everyone's here. Lexuan, you're leading this operation. Go ahead and brief them on the rules."
"Yes, Elder Xuan." Zhang Lexuan nodded, then turned to face the group.
"Everyone, our destination this time is the Star Dou Forest. Some of you may have been there before, others not. Given the mix of experience levels, we'll follow strict rules. First, everyone will introduce themselves — name, martial soul, cultivation rank, and soul ring requirement."
She paused to glance around, then said, "I'll go first. My name is Zhang Lexuan. I'm both a teaching assistant and student in the inner courtyard. My martial soul is the Moon. I'm an assault-type soul master, and I'll be commanding this team. My soul power is Rank 80, and I need a soul ring of at least seventy thousand years."
Zhu Ziyang couldn't help clicking his tongue in amazement.
'So that's the Moon Martial Soul? Already a Soul Douluo at twenty-three? That's terrifying talent…'
'Will I reach Soul Douluo by twenty-three?' he wondered.
Next was a classically beautiful young woman who stood beside Zhang Lexuan. Her name was Han Ruoruo, and she introduced herself calmly.
"I'm Han Ruoruo. Inner courtyard teaching assistant and student. Martial soul: Golden Binding Rope. Control-type soul master. I'll be serving as the team's main controller. My soul power is Rank 76. I do not require a soul ring this time."
She had a gentle aura — elegant brows, dark eyes, and a soft face like an autumn blossom. Standing next to Zhang Lexuan, the two gave off a harmonious and complementary presence.
"I'm Ma Xiaotao. Inner courtyard student. Martial soul: Fire Phoenix. Assault-type soul master. Soul power Rank 50. I need a ten-thousand-year fire-type soul ring."
Next came Wu Ming.
"My name is Wu Ming. Inner courtyard student. Martial soul: Golden Crow. Assault-type soul master. Soul power Rank 60. I need a fire-type soul ring of at least thirty thousand years."
After that, the remaining eight students introduced themselves — three women and five men. Among them were two pseudo Soul Kings, three pseudo Soul Emperors, and three pseudo Soul Sages.
When everyone was finished, all eyes turned to Zhu Ziyang.
He didn't show the slightest hesitation or shyness. With calm confidence, he stepped forward and said, "My name is Zhu Ziyang. I'm a first-year student in the outer courtyard. Martial soul: Stillness Fate Ending Scythe. Assault-type soul master. Soul power Rank 40. I need a ten-thousand-year soul ring."
His words stunned the inner courtyard students who didn't already know him. Their eyes were full of disbelief.
'This kid… He can't be older than thirteen, right? And he's already a Soul Ancestor? Compared to him, what have we even been doing with our lives?'
Han Ruoruo couldn't help but ask, "Junior Brother Ziyang, how old are you exactly?"
"I just turned twelve," Zhu Ziyang answered calmly.
(End of Chapter)
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