Douluo Dalu II: The Peerless Tang Sect

Chapter 5: A Childhood Sweetheart Who's Both Adorable and Talented! (Please vote!)

During the brief conversation with Zhu Ziyang's family, Jiang Nannan had already completed her martial spirit awakening.

"Good heavens, another innate level eight soul power!" Hong Zhen's rough and loud voice rang out, and his exclamation immediately attracted the attention of the family of three.

They looked over and saw that Jiang Nannan was testing her innate soul power. Although the light from the blue crystal ball was not almost full like Zhu Ziyang's, it was still more than half lit up. This level was exactly the level of innate eighth-grade soul power!

"What a lucky day! The first one had innate full soul power, and the second one even has innate level eight soul power! Is Anyang City about to rise to prominence?" Hong Zhen muttered loudly, his eyes filled with joy as he looked at Jiang Nannan. "Little girl, what's your name?"

"My name is Jiang Nannan," Jiang Nannan answered subconsciously, her eyes fixed on the blue crystal ball. Having spent so much time with Zhu Ziyang, she had come to understand what innate eighth-level soul power meant, so she was very happy, her eyes curving into crescents.

"Jiang Nannan?!" Upon hearing Jiang Nannan's name, Hong Zhen immediately recognized her. A hint of guilt flashed across his face as he said, "You're Jiang Ning's daughter!"

"Yes, Brother Hong." Zhu Changhe walked over and answered Hong Zhen's question, his gaze towards Jiang Nannan filled with a mixture of pity and relief.

Jiang Nannan paid no attention to their conversation. Although she knew they were talking about her father, the little girl didn't want to discuss the topic. So, she skipped and hopped towards Zhu Ziyang.

"Brother Ziyang, I'm a Soul Master now!" The little girl ran happily to Zhu Ziyang's side, her eyes full of excitement, as if she were asking for credit.

"Mmm! Nannan is great!" Zhu Ziyang smiled, reached out and patted the little girl's head, and said.

He was overjoyed. Jiang Nannan's martial soul was just an ordinary Soft Bone Rabbit martial soul, yet she possessed innate level eight soul power. Such talent was undoubtedly outstanding. He never expected that his childhood sweetheart would not only be cute but also have such excellent talent. Heaven had been kind to Zhu Ziyang.

"That's right, Nannan is great!" Liang Ying also took Jiang Nannan's little hand and said with satisfaction.

She adored this sensible and well-behaved little girl; not only was she exquisitely cute, but she was also incredibly talented—a perfect match for their Yangyang. Thinking this, Liang Ying looked at Jiang Nannan with even more affection and said, "If your mother knew, she would be overjoyed."

"Yes! Mom will be so happy!" Jiang Nannan's eyes were full of anticipation. If it weren't for the fact that everyone had to awaken their martial souls, she probably would have run home immediately.

After Jiang Nannan, the other seven children also completed their martial soul awakening one after another. Unfortunately, the scene that Hong Zhen had imagined, with one genius after another, did not appear.

Of the seven children, only two possessed soul power; the other five had useless martial souls that couldn't be cultivated. One of the children with soul power was named Zhu Xiaoling, with innate soul power at level three and a scythe martial soul. Unlike Zhu Ziyang's Radiant Scythe, Zhu Xiaoling's martial soul was just an ordinary farming sickle. The other child with soul power was named Jiang Cheng, whose martial soul was Blue Silver Grass, and his soul power was only level one. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, his cultivation level would never exceed the third ring in his lifetime.

"Brother Hong, we'll head back now. See you at the end of the month." At the entrance of the City Lord's Mansion, Zhu Changhe, who was about to leave, stood in front of the carriage and said to Hong Zhen, who had personally seen them off.

"Alright, Brother Changhe, see you at the end of the month," Hong Zhen said. "Remember to make sure Xiao Yang gets into our Anyang Academy. With Xiao Yang's talent, who knows, our Anyang Academy might even produce a Soul Master who gets into Shrek Academy!"

Hong Zhen smiled broadly, his eyes filled with reverence and longing when he mentioned the name Shrek Academy.

"If that were really possible, I could die in peace!" Zhu Changhe replied with a hopeful expression after hearing about Shrek Academy.

Zhu Ziyang felt a slight ripple in his heart upon hearing their conversation. Shrek Academy!

For someone as well-read as him, how could he not know about this legendary academy, hailed as the number one academy in the world! Among the biographies he had read, at least five out of ten Title Douluo were students of Shrek Academy, which shows the influence of Shrek Academy on the continent.

He is determined to get into Shrek Academy!

"Alright, you guys go back now. I still have children in the next village who need to awaken their martial souls." Hong Zhen said, his earlier sentimentality gone, replaced by renewed enthusiasm.

"Alright, we'll head back now," Zhu Changhe said, jumping onto the carriage.

"Goodbye, Uncle Hong." Zhu Ziyang poked his head out and said goodbye to Hong Zhen.

"Okay, goodbye!" Hong Jin replied.

As the strongest person Zhu Ziyang could come into contact with, he still hoped to cultivate a good relationship with Hong Zhen, since he might need Hong Zhen's help to hunt for spirit rings in the future.

The carriage soon returned to Beihe Village.

At the entrance of the Zhu family home, the children's parents had been waiting for a long time, eagerly awaiting news that would determine the future of their family.

At the back of the crowd, a beautiful woman with a pale face, leaning against the wall, was also waiting expectantly. She looked about 70% like Jiang Nannan, but her body seemed weak and her eyes revealed a hint of sorrow. She was Jiang Nannan's mother, Bai Xinyi.

The carriage arrived at the door, and the children got off one after another, each finding their parents. The families without soul power were dejected, while the families with soul power were overjoyed. The stark contrast cruelly separated them into two different worlds, and their joys and sorrows would never be the same again.

"Mom!" As soon as Jiang Nannan got out of the car, she saw her mother standing behind her and immediately ran towards her with a smile on her face that made everyone who saw her smile.

"You're back." Bai Xinyi hugged Jiang Nannan and whispered.

"Mom, I've awakened my martial soul! It's the Soft Bone Rabbit, and I have level eight soul power!" Jiang Nannan proudly raised her head and announced loudly.

Upon hearing this, Bai Xinyi was so excited that she hugged her tightly, her eyes brimming with tears, and murmured, "Brother Aning, did you see? Nannan has also awakened the Soft Bone Rabbit Martial Soul!"

"Mom, don't be sad..." Jiang Nannan saw her mother's sad face and her smile disappeared. She comforted her very sensibly.

"Yes, Mommy is happy." Bai Xinyi wiped away her tears and said with a smile, "Sweetie, let's go home, Mommy will make you something delicious."

"Yay!" Jiang Nannan cheered with a bright smile, then turned to say goodbye to Zhu Ziyang, "Brother Ziyang, I'm going home now!"

"Okay, goodbye," Zhu Ziyang said with a smile. "Don't forget to cultivate tonight!"

"Don't worry, it won't happen!" The little girl took her mother's hand and left the Zhu family home.

"Village chief, we'll be going now," the other children's parents said as well.

"Alright, I won't see you off." Zhu Changhe said calmly, and specifically reminded the parents of the two children who had soul power, "Xiao Jiu, Jiang Wu, remember to prepare the tuition fees for the children. It's not easy to have soul power, so they should at least go to Anyang Academy to study."

"Understood, Second Brother," the two parents who were called out replied.

(End of this chapter)