Zhu Ziyang was playing with Xingcai on the grass by the lake when he met Jiang Nannan, who was beaming with excitement.
"Brother!" Jiang Nannan excitedly waved to Zhu Ziyang and shouted loudly. Then, her figure flickered, and she instantly appeared in front of Zhu Ziyang, her red eyes filled with joy and happiness.
"Nannan, seeing how happy you are, have you made a breakthrough?" Zhu Ziyang saw the girl's expression, his heart stirred, and he immediately thought of the reason, asking.
"Mhm!" Jiang Nannan nodded slightly, her red lips parted to reveal pearly white teeth, and she said, "I've broken through! My spirit power has reached level 50!"
"What?" Zhu Ziyang's heart trembled, his eyes widened considerably, and he quickly stepped forward, grabbing the girl's wrist, saying, "How is that possible? Is the medicinal effect of the Moon Laurel Fairy Tea so powerful? It actually allowed you to instantly increase five levels, from 45 to 50? That was just a sub-flower!"
"Hehehe~" Jiang Nannan couldn't help but laugh when she saw Zhu Ziyang's rare loss of composure, explaining, "Of course, it wasn't entirely because of the Moon Laurel Fairy Tea's flower and leaves! After I used the Moon Laurel Fairy Tea's sub-flower, my spirit power increased by four levels. The reason I'm level 50 now is because my teacher helped me out!"
"So that's it. I was just thinking, if a single sub-flower had such a powerful medicinal effect, then how terrifying would the energy contained in the main body of the Moon Laurel Fairy Tea be!" Zhu Ziyang's heart calmed down after hearing Jiang Nannan's explanation. He pondered, saying, "A sub-flower of the Moon Laurel Fairy Tea, plus the spirit power Old Song imparted to you, a five-level increase in spirit power is quite reasonable."
"I also didn't expect Teacher to impart her cultivation to me," Jiang Nannan said with gratitude on her face. "She said I'm about to participate in the Pan-continental Elite Soul Master Competition, and the stronger I am, the safer I'll be. Breaking through to Spirit King earlier will give me more time to get familiar with combat at the Spirit King realm."
"Old Song is indeed a good teacher!" Zhu Ziyang sighed, then asked, "Did Old Song say when she'll take you to hunt for your fifth spirit ring?"
"Tomorrow morning," Jiang Nannan said, hugging Zhu Ziyang's arm. "Teacher is going to personally take me to find my fifth spirit ring. This time, I won't have to trouble you, Brother!"
"Is that so? Then I won't go and cause Old Song any trouble." Zhu Ziyang waved his hand helplessly, saying.
"Hehehe!" Jiang Nannan laughed repeatedly, saying, "Let's go eat. I haven't eaten for almost a day, and my stomach is about to flatten."
"Alright, I'm hungry too." When eating was mentioned, Zhu Ziyang also felt a pang of hunger and immediately agreed, saying.
Zhu Ziyang rode on Xingcai's back, extended his hand, and pulled Jiang Nannan up as well. He wrapped his arms around Jiang Nannan's slender waist, and Jiang Nannan leaned into his embrace, their posture both intimate and romantic.
Xingcai carried the two towards the Inner Courtyard cafeteria.
At the Inner Courtyard cafeteria, Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan jumped off Xingcai's back. Zhu Ziyang patted Xingcai's neck, and Xingcai turned and left to find food for herself. For a Starry Unicorn, the leaves of the Golden Ancient Tree were the best food. Xingcai's taste had become picky; initially, she could accept the Blue Silver Grass under the Golden Ancient Tree, but ever since Xian Lin'er fed her the leaves of the Golden Ancient Tree once, she no longer ate Blue Silver Grass and instead fed on the leaves of the Golden Ancient Tree.
"Ziyang, Nannan, haven't you eaten yet either?" As the two walked into the cafeteria, they were immediately spotted by Zhang Lexuan, who was sitting by the window. Zhang Lexuan called out with some surprise.
"Oh! It's Sister Lexuan!" Jiang Nannan was also surprised and immediately pulled Zhu Ziyang towards Zhang Lexuan, saying, "That's right, we haven't eaten yet either. Can we eat with you?"
"Of course you can!" Zhang Lexuan smiled and said, "I'd be delighted. It'll be nice to have someone to talk to."
"Hehehe, then we won't be polite!" Jiang Nannan immediately pulled Zhu Ziyang to sit opposite Zhang Lexuan, her eyes full of smiles.
"Sister Lexuan, why are you only eating now?" Zhu Ziyang asked with some confusion after sitting down. Logically, there shouldn't be much work in the Inner Courtyard right now.
"Oh, it's like this. Xiaotao and Wu Ming dragged me to be a referee, so I only had time to eat lunch now," Zhang Lexuan said, her beautiful eyes falling on Zhu Ziyang, with a look of scrutiny and exploration. "Xiaotao's Spirit defect has been resolved. Do you two know about this?"
"Sister Xiaotao's Spirit defect has been resolved? That's great!" Jiang Nannan exclaimed excitedly, her pretty face filled with genuine happiness.
"I know," Zhu Ziyang nodded and said, "The Phoenix Cockscomb Sunflower she obtained was found by Nannan and me together."
"Is that so?!" Zhang Lexuan was greatly surprised and said, "I was wondering why Xiaotao's Spirit defect, which had troubled her for over a decade, suddenly got resolved. So it was you two who found the Phoenix Cockscomb Sunflower!"
"You just said you were dragged by Sister Xiaotao and Senior Sister Wu Ming to be a referee. What happened?" Zhu Ziyang asked.
"Xiaotao wanted to test her strength, so she found Wu Ming as an opponent. The two wanted to have a fight, and they happened to run into me, so they dragged me to be the referee!" Zhang Lexuan said, giving a wry smile. "However, after her Spirit defect was removed, Xiaotao's strength really did advance by leaps and bounds. Wu Ming wasn't even her match; Xiaotao suppressed her throughout the entire fight!"
"That's perfectly normal!" Zhu Ziyang nodded after hearing Zhang Lexuan's narration and said, "Sister Xiaotao's Spirit is already the Ultimate Fire. Although Senior Sister Wu Ming is a Spirit Emperor of level 69, her fire-attribute Golden Crow Spirit will inevitably be suppressed by Sister Xiaotao's Fire Phoenix Spirit. It's very normal for her to be unable to win."
"That's true, but watching a little sister who used to follow behind you suddenly grow into a powerful Spirit Master who can stand on her own, it's truly a wondrous feeling!" Zhang Lexuan sighed, saying.
"Sister Lexuan, I've also reached the Spirit King realm!" Jiang Nannan was somewhat dissatisfied that the two had been discussing Ma Xiaotao, so she immediately spoke to Zhang Lexuan, her tone carrying a hint of pride.
"What?" Zhang Lexuan then realized that her little sister had indeed reached level 50, and she was so surprised that she couldn't speak, only staring at her with her mouth agape.
"Hehehehe~" Jiang Nannan was very satisfied with Zhang Lexuan's reaction, her laughter ringing like silver bells. "Sister Lexuan, your expression is so interesting!"
"You little imp, what good deed have you done? How come your strength suddenly increased by five levels after not seeing you for a month?" Zhang Lexuan calmed her shocked emotions and asked with a heart full of doubt.
"Actually, it's nothing, just that I obtained an Immortal Herb," Jiang Nannan said very casually, with a dismissive smile on her pretty face.
"What do you mean 'just an Immortal Herb'?" Zhang Lexuan was utterly helpless and couldn't help but laugh. She reached out and gently tapped Jiang Nannan's forehead a few times, saying, "Do you know how many people never even see a shadow of an Immortal Herb in several lifetimes? You really are talking without feeling the pain!"
"Hehehe, not at all!" Jiang Nannan held Zhang Lexuan's hand, leaning against her playfully and saying in a sweet voice.
Two beauties with similar temperaments leaned together, their smiles like flowers. One had a gentle demeanor and a serene expression, while the other possessed noble grace and elegant movements, causing Zhu Ziyang's gaze to linger, wanting to imprint this beautiful scene of beauties at play in his mind.
The next day, Jiang Nannan and Old Song left the academy and headed to the Star Dou Great Forest to search for a spirit ring.
For the current Jiang Nannan, the requirements for a spirit ring no longer needed to strictly adhere to previous rules. As long as it was a Spirit Beast known for its speed, it was generally suitable to become her spirit ring. Of course, with Old Song personally intervening, it was impossible for her disciple to settle for less. As Jiang Nannan's first ten-thousand-year spirit ring, Old Song was incredibly serious and cautious.
This could be seen from the fact that it took them a full month to return from the Star Dou Great Forest.
Jiang Nannan's fifth spirit ring came from a twenty-five-thousand-year-old Purple Evil Spirit Demon Python, a type of python Spirit Beast with the smallest body and fastest speed. It possessed extremely powerful instantaneous explosive force; when sprinting at high speed, its tail could instantly shatter a small hill. Jiang Nannan's fifth Spirit Ability was related to this ability of the Purple Evil Spirit Demon Python.
Besides the spirit ring, Jiang Nannan was also very lucky to obtain a leg bone, and it happened to be a left leg Spirit Bone, which she didn't have! When Zhu Ziyang heard this news from the girl, he was momentarily at a loss for words.
Jiang Nannan's luck was truly good. First, the top-tier heavenly material and earthly treasure, the moonlight spirit diamond, then the top-tier Immortal Herb, the Moon Laurel Fairy Tea, and now a left leg Spirit Bone that she just happened to not have. Such luck made Zhu Ziyang feel envious.