Zhangyang Village.
The arrival of Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan brought great excitement and joy to Granny Yang and Yang Zhenzhen. They immediately brought out the finest food they could offer to entertain them, but the two declined and got straight to the point.
"Granny, I see that Nannan's soul power has already reached Rank 10. We're here to take her to find a soul ring, so we won't be staying for a meal," said Jiang Nannan, smiling warmly. The young woman truly liked this little girl who shared her nickname.
"Really? Thank you, big brother, big sister!" Yang Zhenzhen shouted with delight.
"This… I truly can't thank the two of you enough!" The old woman wept with joy, laughing and crying at the same time.
Wasting no time, Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan took Yang Zhenzhen straight to the Soul Hunting Forest outside Falan City. On the way, they asked her about her cultivation progress. As it turned out, the young girl had reached Rank 10 not long after they last visited the village a year ago. Since then, she had never stopped cultivating, always keeping Jiang Nannan's words close to heart—even when her soul power hit a bottleneck.
Before long, the trio arrived at the Soul Hunting Forest. This was a small, human-managed soul beast forest where all the soul beasts were raised for the specific purpose of becoming soul rings or food. No soul beasts over a thousand years old existed there, and high-level soul masters routinely cleared the area to prevent older soul beasts from thriving.
Now standing at the forest's entrance, the three of them attracted attention from many soul hunting teams and common soul masters who were waiting for the gate to open. Zhu Ziyang didn't bother with the curious, skeptical, mocking, or indifferent gazes thrown his way and walked straight to the entrance.
A squad of soldiers was stationed there as guards. Their captain stepped forward to block their path and said, "No entry without the city lord's warrant!"
Without saying a word, Zhu Ziyang took out a token—one that marked him as an inner court disciple of Shrek Academy. Possession of this token granted him free access to any soul hunting forest in the three great empires. There was no way the captain didn't recognize it.
Sure enough, the moment the captain saw the token, a flattering smile bloomed on his face. "An honored soul master from Shrek Academy! I didn't recognize greatness. Forgive me!"
He immediately ordered his men to open the gates, allowing Zhu Ziyang and his companions to enter.
Without delay, Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan led Yang Zhenzhen into the forest. They didn't bother hiding their presence and instead flew boldly over the treetops, brazenly scouting the area. Despite their boldness, they were cautious, scanning every spot where a soul beast might appear.
Eventually, they found the perfect candidate—a two-hundred-year-old Electric Flying Squirrel near a lakeshore. It matched Yang Zhenzhen's martial soul, the Thunder Light Moth, which was a typical thunder-attribute soul beast suitable for an assault-type path. The squirrel's lightning attribute aligned well with the moth, and its battle capabilities were decent. It would likely grant a useful soul skill.
With the target chosen, Zhu Ziyang stayed back to watch over Yang Zhenzhen, while Jiang Nannan went to subdue the soul beast. A two-hundred-year-old beast didn't warrant both their involvement. Swift and precise, Jiang Nannan darted forward and slapped the squirrel on the head before it could react. A burst of soul power knocked it out cold.
She returned, holding the Electric Flying Squirrel, and dropped it before Yang Zhenzhen. "Zhenzhen, do you remember what I told you on the way? It's up to you now."
"Yes, I understand!" Yang Zhenzhen nodded firmly and pulled out a kitchen knife—yes, a kitchen knife. Granny Yang had personally handed it to her before they left. The reason was obvious.
With clean, practiced motion, the little girl ended the soul beast's life in one strike. Her expression didn't change at all, as though she'd done something trivial. Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan were clearly surprised.
"Grandma's hands shake, so I'm the one who cuts the food at home," she explained, blushing as she saw their expressions.
"Hehe, very impressive!" Jiang Nannan praised with a laugh. "Alright, go ahead and absorb your first soul ring. You can do it!"
"Mhm!" With excitement and anticipation on her face, Yang Zhenzhen sat down cross-legged as Jiang Nannan had instructed and began the absorption process.
Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan stood guard beside her. Despite her calm demeanor, Jiang Nannan looked worried. She knew better than anyone that soul ring absorption was never a trivial matter. Just because she or others had succeeded easily didn't mean it always went well.
In reality, every year there were soul masters who failed during the process. Some merely lost their cultivation, while others suffered soul fragmentation and death.
Fortunately, though it took nearly six hours, Yang Zhenzhen successfully refined the soul ring. Her soul power even rose to Rank 13—a fruitful result of her year long dedication.
The little girl was overjoyed and laughed excitedly the entire way back.
Upon returning to Zhangyang Village, Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan stopped at the village entrance instead of going in. "Zhenzhen, work hard on your cultivation. Try to reach Rank 15 before you turn thirteen. If you do, we'll take you to Shrek Academy!" Zhu Ziyang said.
"Mhm! Big brother, big sister, don't worry! I'll work really hard!" Yang Zhenzhen nodded earnestly.
"Alright then, we're off!" Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan turned and left.
Standing at the village entrance, Yang Zhenzhen watched their departing backs, her eyes gleaming with determination. She vowed not to let down Sister Nannan and Brother Ziyang.
——
By the time Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan returned to Anyang City, it was already the fifth day of the holiday.
Back home, Zhu Ziyang completely let go of all thoughts and burdens. Feeling relaxed like never before, he fell into a deep sleep that lasted until the following afternoon.
Once he awoke, he didn't linger at home. Instead, he went straight to the Extreme North.
Why did he go there? The reason was simple—he wanted to completely refine the first soul ring of his Heavenly Frost Holy Dragon.
Currently, Zhu Ziyang had six soul rings: five for the Stillness Fate Ending Scythe and one for the Heavenly Frost Holy Dragon. The five rings for the scythe had already undergone secondary refinement, becoming entirely his. But the red, hundred-thousand-year first ring of the dragon had not.
The life force within a hundred-thousand-year soul ring wasn't something he could fully absorb before. Even now, refining it safely required the help of favorable conditions—hence his journey to the Extreme North.
By harnessing the frigid environment, he could stabilize and refine the soul ring of the Silver Dragon Wolf, a sacred beast of the northern lands. He was confident that this method would have a 99% success rate.
With no hesitation, he informed his parents and Jiang Nannan and then headed north into the frozen wilderness.
The day after Zhu Ziyang entered the Extreme North, a bright-eyed young boy also arrived at the snowy outskirts. Had Zhu Ziyang or Jiang Nannan seen him, they would've shouted his name in shock—Huo Yuhao!
Huo Yuhao stood excitedly before the vast snowfields, shouting, "I've finally arrived! Extreme North, here I come!"
The boy had been tricked by his Brother Tianmeng. At just twelve years old, he had no idea how suicidal it was to enter the Extreme North alone. Or perhaps he knew, but had no other choice. This reckless gamble was about to change his fate—and the fate of the entire Extreme North.
A destined transformation was about to begin. An unexpected encounter was about to unfold. A new kind of soul beast was about to descend upon the world.
(End of Chapter)
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