Mingdou Great Forest.
One elder and two youths were rapidly moving through the dense trees, constantly observing their surroundings.
"Brother, Teacher, wait a moment! I've sensed the location of another Spirit herb!" The silver-haired girl among the three suddenly stopped, her voice filled with joy, as she called out.
The other two stopped immediately upon hearing her cry.
These three were Zhu Ziyang, Jiang Nannan, and Old Song.
It turned out that after Old Song expressed her desire to take on a disciple, Zhu Ziyang immediately showed his support, and Jiang Nannan then formally became Old Song's disciple. As the continent's top agility-attack system Spirit Master, a Level 97 Super Douluo, Old Song's Azure Shadow Divine Eagle Spirit and Jiang Nannan's Taiyin Jade Rabbit Spirit were not compatible, and even somewhat conflicted. However, this did not hinder teaching. The master-disciple relationship among Spirit Masters was never based on Spirit similarities or differences, but rather on shared philosophies and developmental directions.
Jiang Nannan was undoubtedly an agility-attack system Spirit Master, so Old Song, as the continent's top agility-attack system Spirit Master, was the most suitable teacher for her.
Old Song was very happy after taking Jiang Nannan as her disciple. She immediately gifted Jiang Nannan a spirit ring of similar quality to Zhu Ziyang's star flame ring, and promised that upon returning to the Academy, she would ensure the old folks at the Academy also gave Jiang Nannan a master-disciple ceremony gift.
After this, the three traveled east, planning to head north from the Mingdou Great Forest, then west, to return to Shrek Academy.
During their journey, Jiang Nannan's Spirit finally displayed its unique qualities as a top-tier Spirit. The Taiyin Jade Rabbit possessed a very practical ability: its powerful sense of smell could detect the location of all Spirit herbs within a one-kilometer radius! This ability was naturally inherited by the Taiyin Jade Rabbit Spirit.
On the second day after her Spirit evolved, as they were about to leave the Mingdou Mountain Range, Jiang Nannan demonstrated this ability, directly leading the three to a thousand-year-old ginseng. This made Zhu Ziyang overjoyed; with Jiang Nannan's special ability, he would never have to worry about finding Spirit herbs for his future alchemy!
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go pick the Spirit herb!" Zhu Ziyang said with a smile upon hearing Jiang Nannan's words.
Old Song also nodded and said, "Indeed, we are not in a hurry to travel."
"Hehe, then follow me," Jiang Nannan said with a smile, then walked in a certain direction.
Zhu Ziyang and Old Song followed closely behind her.
Before long, the three found the Spirit herb whose location Jiang Nannan had sensed, and all of them widened their eyes, filled with pleasant surprise.
It was a large, pale blue flower, its petals transparent like crystal. The stem had no leaves but stood perfectly straight, supporting the blue crystal flower above, appearing ethereal and dreamlike, as if from a celestial realm, not of the mortal world.
"It's a Glazed Lily!" Old Song exclaimed, her face showing astonishment. "It's truly surprising that this kind of Spirit herb still exists!"
It was no wonder that Old Song, a knowledgeable Super Douluo, showed surprise; the Glazed Lily was simply too rare and uncommon.
The Glazed Lily, a top-tier Spirit herb with mild medicinal properties, could increase spirit power, strengthen the physique, unblock meridians, and even purify bloodlines by removing impurities. In short, it was a priceless and precious Spirit herb on the market.
"This Glazed Lily hasn't matured yet, what a pity," Zhu Ziyang was also very surprised, but after careful observation, he looked regretful and said, "If it were only a day or two away, we could wait. However, this Glazed Lily needs at least half a year to mature. If we pick it now, its medicinal properties will be completely ruined."
"Ah! How could this be!" Hearing Zhu Ziyang's words, Jiang Nannan couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, saying, "Then wasn't it a wasted trip!"
"It's alright, at least this proves that your ability, Nannan, can sense top-tier Spirit herbs," Old Song comforted her. "If we didn't gain anything this time, perhaps we will next time. It's not as if we'll encounter immature Spirit herbs every single time!"
"You're right, hehe, thank you, Teacher," Jiang Nannan's face immediately brightened with a smile upon hearing this, she said.
"Old Song, Nannan, let's go. We'll leave this Glazed Lily for those Spirit Beasts," Zhu Ziyang finally gave up and said to Old Song and Jiang Nannan.
"Let's go," Old Song said, leading the way forward.
Zhu Ziyang followed closely, while Jiang Nannan reluctantly glanced at the Glazed Lily before quickening her pace to catch up with the two.
---
Three days later, Zhu Ziyang and the other two arrived at the outer perimeter of the Mingdou Great Forest, which was the border between the Sun Moon Empire and the Star Luo Empire.
"Caw caw—"
At this moment, to the west of the border, in a desolate small town, a vast swarm of black crow Spirit Beasts celebrated a harvest. The pervasive blood and exposed corpses excited the crows. Towering flames swept through, and thick black smoke permeated the scene, which resembled a living hell. The cacophony of footsteps and terrified screams intertwined into an overture of the apocalypse. Two groups of soldiers wearing different armor were locked in battle, while even more soldiers, like devils, madly slaughtered the unarmed residents of this remote town.
"Wuwu—Daddy, don't die! Ju Zi doesn't want you to die, wake up quickly—wuwu—" A girl, eleven or twelve years old, clutched a middle-aged man dressed in Sun Moon Empire soldier's armor, weeping in despair. Not far from her, a foreign soldier, whose eyes were already bloodshot and who had lost all reason, noticed the crying girl and slowly walked towards her.
It seemed that only Death awaited this girl.
In the forest not far outside the town, Zhu Ziyang and the other two emerged and immediately saw the towering flames and thick black smoke rising from that direction.
"That is..." Zhu Ziyang looked surprised and puzzled. He felt the trembling of the Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe, and the dense aura of Death indicated that a massive number of souls had been generated in that direction.
"That's the territory of the Sun Moon Empire," Old Song said quietly after a glance.
"Aren't we going to take a look, Teacher?" Jiang Nannan gazed at the flames and black smoke, smelling the faint scent of blood in the air. She couldn't help but feel concerned and asked, "What if Evil Soul Masters are causing trouble? We could save the common people there."
Old Song was silent for a moment before slowly speaking, "Alright! But, without my permission, you are not to act rashly!"
"Yes!" the two replied.
The three quickly arrived at the cliff outside the town. The dense scent of blood rushed up to them from below, and the tragic scene, like hell, stimulated the senses of Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan, both only eleven or twelve years old. Zhu Ziyang's face was somewhat pale, and Jiang Nannan was even worse, her face ashen, her eyes vacant, almost throwing up.
"This..." The girl's mind was greatly shaken, and she looked at everything in disbelief, murmuring, "How could it be so terrifying!"
Old Song embraced Jiang Nannan, comforting her. Her aged gaze immediately locked onto the soldiers in the town who were already lost in the slaughter. She recognized them at a glance: those people, acting like Evil Soul Masters, were actually Star Luo Empire soldiers! Although she had always been against the Sun Moon Empire, when she saw the atrocities of these Star Luo Empire soldiers slaughtering civilians, she couldn't help but feel a deep disgust.
No matter what, the smoke of war should not, should not spread to unarmed civilians!
Perhaps it was empathy, as Old Song herself came from a common background, and naturally did not wish for war to spread to civilians; perhaps it was the compassion of a strong person, where those in high positions often show a charitable kindness to the weak and helpless. In any case, Old Song felt a strong aversion to this group of Star Luo Empire soldiers.
Zhu Ziyang also widened his eyes, staring intently at the soldiers' brutality below. He also recognized them as Star Luo Empire soldiers, and seeing them slaughtering civilians, whether it was his background that instinctively made him sympathetic, or the compassionate heart brought to him by his Ultimate Light Spirit, all filled Zhu Ziyang with burning rage.
Upon seeing a soldier raise his butcher knife towards an eleven or twelve-year-old girl, he finally couldn't bear it any longer, completely disregarding Old Song's earlier instruction, and boldly took action.
"Stop!"
Zhu Ziyang roared, leaping directly from the cliff more than ten meters high and landing on the ground. Without losing speed, the Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe instantly appeared in his hand, his third spirit ring lit up, the scythe blade gleamed with holy light, carrying an imposing aura of judgment, and slashed towards the soldier.
The soldier clearly hadn't expected someone to suddenly appear and intervene. He somewhat flusteredly raised his blade Spirit, which had two spirit rings flickering, attempting to block Zhu Ziyang's attack. However, an enraged strike from a Spirit Elder with a super Spirit was something a mere Spirit Grandmaster could not withstand.
The scythe slashed onto the soldier's Spirit. With just one contact, the soldier's Spirit instantly shattered, and even the two spirit rings, one white and one yellow, exploded. The soldier himself was sent flying, crashing heavily into a house more than ten meters away. The house wall collapsed backward, and the soldier slid to the ground, spitting blood, his eyes unfocused, clearly not going to survive.
The sudden turn of events instantly drew the vigilance and attention of the other soldiers in the town. They shouted and yelled, all charging towards Zhu Ziyang, determined to tear this meddling, hero-acting youth to shreds!
At this moment, Old Song also landed next to Zhu Ziyang with Jiang Nannan. Old Song's eyes were complex. The instant Zhu Ziyang rushed out, she had had a chance to stop him, but she hesitated. Perhaps the tragic state of the town had also stirred compassion in her aged heart.
Zhu Ziyang no longer paid attention to other matters. He turned around, looked at the girl slumped on the ground with concern, and asked, "Are you alright?"
The girl, Ju Zi, stared blankly at Zhu Ziyang. Perhaps she would never forget that scene: under the blood-red sunset, a handsome youth holding a golden long spear descended from the sky, like a god, saving her from the abyss of despair.