That day, at Anyang Academy, in the student dormitories.
Jiang Nannan looked at Zhu Ziyang with a worried expression and asked, "Brother, are you really not waiting for Uncle Dahe and the others to return?"
"Mm!" Zhu Ziyang nodded, reached out and stroked Jiang Nannan's hair reassuringly, saying, "Don't worry, I never do anything I'm not confident about. Wait for me to return at the Academy. If the teachers ask about me, just tell them I went with my parents to hunt for a spirit ring."
"Alright!" Jiang Nannan knew she couldn't stop Zhu Ziyang, so she could only look at him with concern and admonish, "Then promise me you'll come back safely."
"I will!" Zhu Ziyang smiled, then left the dormitory without looking back, departing from Anyang Academy.
He was going to hunt for a spirit ring alone!
Zhu Ziyang, at eight years and four months old, had reached level 20 spirit power. In two years, twenty-eight months, he had advanced from level 10 spirit power to level 20 spirit power, a full ten levels. Such speed would definitely rank him among all geniuses throughout history.
Most importantly, an eight-year-and-four-month-old Spirit Grandmaster—he should be the youngest Spirit Grandmaster on the continent in nearly ten thousand years!
Zhu Ziyang was very proud.
So, why did he want to hunt for a spirit ring alone?
Two reasons.
First, Zhu Changhe and the others were not in Anyang City. A week ago, Zhu Changhe had broken through to level 30, becoming a quasi-Spirit Elder. At this time, he, Liang Ying, Hong Zhen, and another Spirit Elder from Anyang City, should be helping Zhu Changhe search for a spirit ring. Because Zhu Changhe had listened to Zhu Ziyang's plan, he intended to choose a Light Attribute Spirit Beast with a thousand years of cultivation for his third spirit ring, and thus specifically invited Hong Zhen and another deeply befriended Spirit Elder to assist.
Zhu Ziyang estimated it would be at least a month before they returned, and he didn't want to wait.
Second, it was Zhu Ziyang's personal ambition.
He planned to absorb a thousand-year spirit ring as his second spirit ring!
Due to the Great Bright Light Art, Zhu Ziyang's physique far surpassed Spirit Masters of the same level. According to his own tests, his body could withstand a spirit ring of up to fifteen hundred years.
If he were with Zhu Changhe and the others, they would certainly not allow Zhu Ziyang to absorb a thousand-year spirit ring. Unaware that Zhu Ziyang possessed the Great Bright Light Art, they naturally didn't know Zhu Ziyang's true strength, and thus would never permit Zhu Ziyang to do such a risky thing.
Zhu Ziyang also found it inconvenient to explain to them.
Rather than such trouble, it was better for him to search for a spirit ring alone. He was very confident in his own strength; Spirit Beasts under two thousand years would definitely not be his match.
Thus, Zhu Ziyang embarked alone on the path to hunt for a thousand-year spirit ring.
He traveled day and night, reaching his destination, the Tianhui Grand Canyon, in just two days.
According to his plan, his second spirit ring had to be of the Light Attribute. Perhaps it was due to cultivating the Great Bright Light Art, but Zhu Ziyang could clearly perceive his own Light Element affinity, an ability that Spirit Masters with other elemental attribute Spirits did not possess.
When his Radiant Scythe Spirit first awakened, his Light Element affinity was thirty-five. Now it was around forty-five. After absorbing a Light Attribute second spirit ring, Zhu Ziyang estimated his Light Attribute affinity could reach fifty to sixty, which was already the ceiling for high-grade Spirits.
Such a rate of improvement had already far exceeded the recognized scope of elemental theory. If scholars of the elemental school knew, they would certainly question their lives.
This demonstrated the power of the Great Bright Light Art.
Zhu Ziyang's Ice Element affinity was around forty, which showed that the Frost Tyrant Dragon Spirit was stronger than the initial Radiant Scythe Spirit.
Regarding elemental affinity, this was an important theory in the Spirit Master's world, the core of elemental theory.
In the current Spirit Master's world, Spirit Masters believed that elemental affinity was one of the factors determining the quality of a Spirit. A Spirit with an elemental attribute could increase its elemental affinity by absorbing a spirit ring of the corresponding attribute.
Elemental affinity refers to the ratio of the elements a Spirit Master can manipulate within their perception to the total elements. If, for example, a hundred fire elements exist in a one-cubic-meter space centered on a Spirit Master, then the more elements the Spirit Master can manipulate, the higher their elemental affinity.
Normally, everyone's affinity for all elements is zero. Spirits with an elemental affinity below ten percent are called weak attribute Spirits, such as the Obscure Scythe Spirit, which can be called a weak Light Attribute Spirit.
Spirits with an elemental affinity between ten and ninety percent are traditional attribute Spirits. Nearly eighty percent of the Spirits in the Spirit Master's world fall into this category, encompassing common, advanced, and top-tier Spirits.
As for Spirits with an elemental affinity above ninety percent, these are the legendary Ultimate Spirits. Such Spirits are absolutely rare, appearing perhaps once in a thousand years. In the eight thousand years since the birth of elemental theory, only three Spirit Masters with Ultimate Spirits have appeared on the continent.
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Tianhui Grand Canyon.
"Ugh! So hard to find! Now I finally understand why Dad and the others haven't returned after more than a week," Zhu Ziyang complained in the jungle.
He had been in the Tianhui Grand Canyon for two days, yet he still hadn't found the Spirit Beast he desired.
The second spirit ring Zhu Ziyang wanted was from a Spirit Beast called the Blazing Light Mantis. This was an advanced Spirit Beast with Light and Metal attributes. He had wanted to choose this type of Spirit Beast for his first spirit ring. According to his judgment, the Blazing Light Mantis's spirit ring should provide him with a decent amplification-type Spirit Ability.
Zhu Ziyang had searched most of the areas where Blazing Light Mantises frequently appeared, but all he encountered were not thousand-year Spirit Beasts. The one with the highest cultivation was only eight hundred years, which greatly disappointed Zhu Ziyang.
"Wait, what's that smell? It's so fragrant!" As Zhu Ziyang complained, he suddenly caught a faint, ethereal scent, like osmanthus, which invigorated his tired mind.
A treasure!
Zhu Ziyang realized it instantly. He didn't hesitate, following the scent. He walked about four to five hundred meters, and the aroma in the air grew increasingly rich. Under normal circumstances, this was a sign that some spiritual medicine was ripening!
He saw a dense thicket of bushes taller than himself, and the fragrance emanated from within.
"This is it!" Zhu Ziyang's eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a dangerous glint. With a stretch of his right hand, the Radiant Scythe instantly appeared in his grasp. A yellow spirit ring silently floated on the scythe's hilt, and the faint golden patterns on the hilt were already taking initial shape.
He raised the Radiant Scythe and slowly pushed aside the bushes in front of him, stepping inside. This thicket was quite deep; Zhu Ziyang walked three or four meters into it and still didn't see an open space. However, the fragrance grew even stronger.
"Swish!" Zhu Ziyang pushed aside a patch of bushes, and from behind them, a giant mantis with bronze-colored golden markings immediately lunged out, its serrated, scythe-like forelimbs raised to strike Zhu Ziyang. Zhu Ziyang was prepared; the Radiant Scythe in his hand instantly thrust out, blocking the attacker's weapon.
Seeing this giant mantis, Zhu Ziyang was not angry about being ambushed; instead, he showed a joyful expression. This giant mantis was precisely the thousand-year Blazing Light Mantis Zhu Ziyang had been searching for!
It was truly a case of finding what he sought without effort, after searching high and low!
Even more surprising to Zhu Ziyang, behind this Blazing Light Mantis was a one-meter-tall sapling, bearing a pale yellow, apple-sized fruit. The osmanthus-like fragrance was emanating from it. Beneath the tree were several broken corpses of Blazing Light Mantises.
The bright yellow fruit, a spiritual medicine that could increase spirit power and enhance physique, was especially effective for those with Light Attribute.
Zhu Ziyang understood now why there were no other thousand-year Blazing Light Mantises within a ten-li radius—they had perished in the struggle for this bright yellow fruit.
So, this Blazing Light Mantis in front of him was the ultimate victor, then?
Zhu Ziyang looked at the Blazing Light Mantis, which had retreated to the bright yellow fruit tree, watching him warily and fiercely. His expression was quite peculiar; was he not the oriole behind the cicada, benefiting from their struggle?