"Is this a Spirit? It's so beautiful!" The little girl, Yang Zhenzhen, looked at the phantom wings behind her, her eyes filled with joyful light, as she clapped her hands happily and cheered.
Granny Yang, standing nearby, was already moved to tears.
"Very good, Yang Zhenzhen, now let big sister test your innate spirit power." Jiang Nannan's face was full of smiles; no matter what, the feeling of personally awakening a child's Spirit and opening up her new life was something the young girl thoroughly enjoyed.
"Oh, oh!" Yang Zhenzhen nodded her small head and immediately followed Jiang Nannan's instructions.
"Innate spirit power, rank five!" Soon, Yang Zhenzhen's innate spirit power was detected, and Jiang Nannan joyfully exclaimed, "Zhenzhen, congratulations! From now on, you are a Spirit Master!"
"Yay! I'm a Spirit Master too!" The little girl excitedly jumped up, then ran towards her grandmother, happily shouting, "Grandma, Grandma, I'm a Spirit Master!"
Granny Yang hugged her, sobbing, and the other Elders present all smiled, congratulating her.
"With innate spirit power of rank five, if she cultivates normally, there's hope for her to become a Spirit King or Spirit Emperor," Xian Lin'er said.
"That's great," Jiang Nannan said, then looked at the next child and said, "Come, it's your turn."
"Hello, Spirit Master big sister, my name is Zhang Chao." This was a small boy.
On the other side, Zhu Ziyang had already awakened three children, but unfortunately, none of them had spirit power. Now it was the fourth child's turn, an eight-year-old boy with a dull expression, seemingly not very intelligent.
"H-hello, Spirit Master a-adult, m-my name is Han Li." The dull boy said respectfully.
"Good, stand here," Zhu Ziyang nodded, pointing to the hexagram array in front of him and said.
Han Li walked into it blankly, and then he moved whenever Zhu Ziyang spoke, very stiffly. However, this dull and stiff boy was the first child Zhu Ziyang detected who possessed innate spirit power.
His Spirit was a Tool Spirit called Coiling Dragon Rod, and his innate spirit power was as high as rank eight, just like Jiang Nannan! However, in terms of talent during Spirit awakening, his potential was higher than Jiang Nannan's, because the Coiling Dragon Rod Spirit was a top-tier Spirit, while the Soft Bones Rabbit was just an ordinary Spirit. The Coiling Dragon Rod is one of the most widely circulated top-tier Tool Spirits on the continent; whether on the Douluo Continent or the Sun Moon Continent, Coiling Dragon Rod Spirit Masters can be seen. There have been many famous Coiling Dragon Rod Spirits in history, the most famous of which was the Elder of Spirit Hall ten thousand years ago.
"It's actually a Coiling Dragon Rod Spirit!" Cai Meier's eyes lit up, and she said, "This talent is quite good; if he can be cultivated from a young age, he has a chance to reach the Titled Douluo realm!"
Cai Meier had thoughts of taking him as a disciple because the Coiling Dragon Rod Spirit and her Evil-Breaking Dragon Soul Spear were of the same origin, both possessing evil-breaking power, a powerful means to counter Evil Soul Masters. At the same time, her Evil-Breaking Dragon Soul Spear possessed a complete Evil-Breaking Dragon Soul, while the Coiling Dragon Rod possessed an incomplete Evil-Breaking Dragon Soul. If she taught him diligently and completed the Dragon Soul, it might become a top-tier Tool Spirit no less powerful than the Evil-Breaking Dragon Soul Spear.
In fact, Cai Meier had previously encountered a student with a Coiling Dragon Rod Spirit, but that student's cultivation talent was simply too poor, barely reaching the Spirit King realm at over thirty years old. In contrast, this little boy named Han Li's talent was much better.
She made up her mind that after sending Zhu Ziyang home, she would definitely return to bring this little boy back to the academy and cultivate him well.
The appearance of Han Li greatly encouraged Zhu Ziyang. As long as a Spirit Master prodigy appeared, then his efforts in specifically coming to help them awaken their Spirits would not be in vain.
Thus, Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan spent an hour awakening all seventeen children. What Zhu Ziyang and the other three did not expect was that out of seventeen children, eleven of them possessed innate spirit power! Such a probability greatly astonished both Cai Meier and Xian Lin'er.
Among the eleven children with spirit power, Han Li, with rank eight innate spirit power and the Coiling Dragon Rod Spirit, had the highest aptitude. Next was a little girl with rank six innate spirit power and a small cat Spirit. Then came Yang Zhenzhen and two other children with rank five innate spirit power. The remaining seven children all had innate spirit power below rank five.
After the Spirit awakening ceremony, Zhu Ziyang and his group stayed for another hour, teaching the eleven children how to meditate and cultivate, before finally leaving Zhangyang Village.
They had already opened the door to another path in life for these children. Where they went next and how they walked that path was their own business; Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan would not interfere too much. Having no blood relation, helping them awaken their Spirits was already doing their utmost.
After leaving Zhangyang Village, Xian Lin'er and Cai Meier once again accelerated, rushing towards Anyang City. This time, they would not stop midway again.
"Meier, are you thinking of taking him as a disciple?" Xian Lin'er asked Cai Meier on the way.
"Yes, that child named Han Li has decent talent, and his Spirit is the Coiling Dragon Rod, which is very compatible with my abilities. I'll bring him back to the academy and observe him for a few years first," Cai Meier replied.
"That's true," Xian Lin'er said, "By the way, isn't there a boy named Wang Yan in the academy? I remember his Spirit is also the Coiling Dragon Rod, right? Why didn't you take him as a disciple back then?"
"That boy's talent is average, and he's not serious about things. His mind isn't focused on cultivation at all. He's already over thirty years old, and he's still a Spirit King!" Cai Meier said with a wry smile, "If it weren't for the fact that I once guided him, he would have been kicked out of the academy by Xiao Du long ago. How could he still be a teacher in the academy?"
"I see," Xian Lin'er's face showed a look of sudden realization.
—
Night enveloped the village outside Anyang City. Two streaks of light, like meteors, descended, revealing the figures of two middle-aged women and two young people. They were Xian Lin'er and Cai Meier, and the two young people were naturally Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan.
After they left Zhangyang Village, the two Titled Douluo traveled at full speed, finally arriving at Beihe Village outside Anyang City in one afternoon. Looking at the familiar surroundings, Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan both felt very emotional. Seeing the scenery of their hometown again after a year, everything felt both familiar and strange.
"Junior Brother, Junior Sister, this is Anyang City, isn't it?" Xian Lin'er said.
"Mm-hmm, that's right," the two nodded and replied, "Senior Sister, let's go, I'll take you to my house to see."
"No need, we won't stay long." Xian Lin'er and Cai Meier exchanged glances, then made their decision and said, "We still have to return to the academy to preside over this year's Inner Courtyard assessment, so we won't bother your parents."
"Oh, I see. Well, alright then," Zhu Zi Yang said regretfully upon hearing this, "Then you two should head back."
"Okay, Junior Brother, Junior Sister, we'll see you in a month!" The two said simultaneously, then prepared to leave.
"Oh, and Senior Sister, Junior Sister, please remember to help me look after Xingcai this month," Zhu Ziyang suddenly remembered something and reminded them.
"No problem!" Xian Lin'er and Cai Meier had already flown away, their voices echoing.
Looking at their disappearing Senior Sisters, Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan exchanged helpless glances, then both laughed. Jiang Nannan said, "Finally home, that's great!"
"Let's go, we're going home." Zhu Ziyang held Jiang Nannan's hand and walked towards Beihe Village.
The scenery of Beihe Village remained the same, with no major changes. As night fell, the lights in each household were as they always were. Zhu Ziyang's house had the brightest lights, its small courtyard standing at the head of the village, very conspicuous.
After escorting Jiang Nannan home, Zhu Ziyang walked towards his own house. Soon, looking at his home so close at hand, a natural sense of timidity arose in his heart, but more than that, there was joy and excitement, and a hint of anticipation. Imagining Zhu Changhe and Liang Ying's reactions when they suddenly saw him, he couldn't help but smile.
However, Zhu Ziyang would never have imagined that this return home would bring him an unprecedented fright, causing him to live in someone's shadow for a very long time in the future.