Academy Life!

After returning to the dormitory, Zhu Ziyang saw that it was still early. After taking a shower, he sat at the head of his bed and read, in no hurry to cultivate.

Cultivation could not be rushed too much. One had to understand that excess was as bad as deficiency, so Zhu Ziyang had always known how to balance work and rest, alternating between tension and relaxation.

"...Dragon God Douluo Mu En, the two-hundred-sixtieth principal of Shrek Academy, a level-ninety-nine Limit Douluo, with the Light Holy Dragon as his Martial Soul... Mu En was born into the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and was a descendant of Yu Xiaogang, one of the founders of Shrek Academy... He awakened the Light Holy Dragon Martial Soul at the age of six and possessed Innate Full Soul Power... He reached the Soul Grandmaster rank at eight... level sixty-nine at eighteen... He then led Shrek Academy to win the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament... He broke through to become a Titled Douluo at thirty... reached level ninety-eight at fifty... and reached level ninety-nine, becoming a Limit Douluo, at seventy. He was hailed as the strongest person Shrek Academy had seen in a thousand years..."

He was completely absorbed in reading when he suddenly heard a knock at the door.

Zhu Ziyang was stunned, a puzzled expression appearing on his face. He set down the book titled Introduction to the Past Principals of Shrek Academy, stood up, and went to open the door.

When the door opened, it was actually Jiang Nannan!

"Nannan!" Zhu Ziyang was extremely surprised. He asked, "How did you get to the boys' floor?"

"Hehe, I asked around. The academy only forbids you boys from going to the girls' floor. It never said that girls aren't allowed on the boys' floor!" Jiang Nannan said with a laugh as she walked into the dormitory on her own. She looked around at Zhu Ziyang's room.

"What is it? Do you want to move in and live with me?" Zhu Ziyang teased, a smile on his face. He thought of their time at Anyang Academy. He and Jiang Nannan had lived together for three years.

"I want to, but the school won't allow it," Jiang Nannan said, sitting naturally on Zhu Ziyang's bed.

"Once we enter the Inner Court, we'll naturally be able to live together again." Zhu Ziyang sat down beside Jiang Nannan, wrapped an arm around her slender waist, pulled her into his embrace, and said this.

"Gigglegiggle!" The young girl's laughter rang out like silver bells as she nestled her delicate body into Zhu Ziyang's arms.

After being affectionate for a while, Jiang Nannan finally sat up and said to Zhu Ziyang, "Brother Ziyang, where are the clothes you changed out of? Give them to me."

"All right." Zhu Ziyang did not stand on ceremony. He got up and handed Jiang Nannan his changed school uniform. Back when he had lived at Anyang Academy, Jiang Nannan had also washed most of his clothes. The young girl was truly capable.

Jiang Nannan took the clothes and did not stay any longer. She said, "Then I'll head back first."

"All right. Don't cultivate too late tonight. Remember to get some sleep!" Zhu Ziyang reminded her.

"I know!" Jiang Nannan replied, then left Zhu Ziyang's dormitory.

Zhu Ziyang watched Jiang Nannan's figure disappear around the stairwell before closing the door and returning inside.

After Jiang Nannan left, Zhu Ziyang continued reading for a while before getting into bed to cultivate.

He closed his eyes and sat cross-legged on the bed. His breathing was steady and powerful, and his mind quickly reached its most perfect state.

His consciousness instinctively entered his Spiritual Sea. Above the Spiritual Sea, Electrolux's gray soul pearl remained peaceful, while the Silver Crystal floated quietly, without the slightest disturbance.

After inspecting his Spiritual Sea, Zhu Ziyang began circulating the Great Brightness Art. All the Soul Power in his body was mobilized, beginning at his Danzhong Acupoint and traveling through the various meridians and acupoints in his body.

When his Soul Power reached the acupoint near his right eye, that strange sensation appeared again. Zhu Ziyang was quite puzzled. The feeling was incredibly peculiar, as if something were being nurtured.

This sensation had begun after the Dragon Wolf's sacrifice. At first, it had frightened Zhu Ziyang, but later he realized that it was not dangerous. On the contrary, it was helping nourish his eyes!

Ever since this strange sensation appeared, he had realized that some miraculous mutation must have occurred in his right eye. It was actually connecting to his Spiritual Sea on its own. Although the process was very slow, it was exceptionally stable. Even if Zhu Ziyang did not deliberately interfere, the connection continued to extend steadily.

He had a feeling that once the acupoint in his right eye connected with his Spiritual Sea, the mutation in his right eye should be completed at the same time. By then, he would know exactly what had happened.

At this rate, Zhu Ziyang estimated that it would take one to two months to complete.

He stopped paying attention to his right eye and focused on cultivation.

--

Morning.

Zhu Ziyang woke up, sat up, got out of bed, dressed, washed up, and then left the dormitory.

The old man at the entrance of the dormitory building was still the same as ever, leisurely reclining in his rocking chair. Yu Beibei, meanwhile, had already been standing there for some time. He seemed to be struggling with something, but when he saw Zhu Ziyang arrive, his expression changed immediately, and he smiled and nodded at him.

Zhu Ziyang paid no attention to the change in his expression. After smiling in response, he stood there and continued reading.

Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya did not keep them waiting long. They soon came downstairs.

After the four briefly met up, they immediately split up. Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan went running as usual, while Yu Beibei and Tang Ya headed to the cafeteria for breakfast.

After breakfast, the morning classes began.

The morning class for Class Four was Soul Master theory. The teacher was a middle-aged man. The knowledge he taught was more profound than that at Anyang Academy, but not by much. It was all basic Soul Master theory, such as the nature of Soul Power, the ages of Soul Rings, and identifying Martial Souls.

After all, these first-year students were at most at the level of graduates from junior academies. Aside from a few exceptionally gifted students, most of them might not even be able to understand overly profound knowledge.

When the morning classes ended, Zhu Ziyang and the others went straight to eat. Afterward, Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya returned to the dormitory to cultivate, while Beibei's whereabouts were unclear. As for Zhu Ziyang, he rented a practice field in the Soul Duelling Zone to practice controlling his Martial Soul and his scythe techniques. He did not plan to return to the dormitory at noon. He had no habit of taking afternoon naps anyway, so he might as well use these nearly four hours to practice his combat skills.

The practice fields in the Soul Duelling Zone were not cheap. Each hour cost ten Gold Soul Coins, a price that ordinary students could not afford. Thus, most students preferred to find an empty space in the academy to practice their Soul Skills or Martial Souls. The academy did not prohibit this, of course, provided they did not cause too much damage. Otherwise, they would have to pay ten times the cost in compensation. Therefore, aside from upper-year students, very few lower-year students were willing to rent practice fields. After all, their cultivation was limited, and it was difficult for them to cause serious damage to the academy grounds.

Zhu Ziyang was quite confident in his scythe techniques, which was why he chose to rent a practice field. Otherwise, he would not have been willing to spend thirty or forty Gold Soul Coins helping the academy earn money.

The Two-Form Reversal Style, Nine-Layered Chain Style, Half-Moon of Death Style, Four-Directional Union Style, and One Origin Return Style—the five scythe techniques were displayed one after another in Zhu Ziyang's hands. The Golden Sickle appeared and vanished with agility, now chopping, now stabbing. Various profound principles emerged rapidly with Zhu Ziyang's movements before swiftly sinking into his mind, ultimately becoming part of his foundation and steadily improving his scythe techniques.

As for the Two-Form Reversal Style and Half-Moon of Death Style, those could be set aside for now. Since they required mastering the method of fusing light and death, Zhu Ziyang was still stuck at the second level with both techniques. He could release either the Power of Light or the Power of Death, but could not release both forces simultaneously.

The Nine-Layered Chain Style and Four-Directional Union Style leaned more toward technique. The Nine-Layered Chain Style was currently limited by his strength and physical constitution, so he could still only swing four blades. If he forcibly erupted with power, he could reach five. The Four-Directional Union Style, meanwhile, was nearing completion.

As for the final technique, the One Origin Return Style, he could currently fuse his First Soul Skill with his Second Soul Skill, or his Second Soul Skill with his Third Soul Skill. However, his Second Soul Skill, Light Blessing, was itself an enhancement skill. It increased his strength and the sharpness of the World-Pacifying Death Scythe, and it had extremely high compatibility with both the First and Third Soul Skills. Rather than calling it fusion, it was more accurate to say that this was simply what an enhancement-type Soul Skill was supposed to be capable of. Before he achieved the fusion of light and death, this technique would probably remain stuck at this level.