Douluo Dalu II: The Peerless Tang Sect

Chapter 83 Shrek's Exclusive Zone and the Failed Innovators!

In the morning, during class.

Zhu Ziyang, Jiang Nannan, Tang Ya, and Bei Bei sat together.

"Hey! Zhu Ziyang, what did you take Nannan to do yesterday?" Tang Ya asked curiously. "Why did Nannan's soul power jump to level 30 so quickly?!"

"What!" Bei Bei, who was concentrating on listening to the lesson, turned around immediately upon hearing Tang Ya's words, looked at Jiang Nannan in disbelief, and exclaimed.

"Beibei, do you have any questions?" Beibei's exclamation displeased the teacher, who looked at him angrily.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Li! I have no problem." Bei Bei quickly stood up and explained when she heard the teacher's angry voice.

"Pay attention in class!" Seeing that Beibei had a good attitude, the teacher stopped pursuing the matter and resumed the lesson.

Seeing this, Beibei breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down. Then she looked at Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan with a face full of surprise and doubt, her eyes filled with the same curiosity and exploration as Tang Ya's.

"Didn't you tell Tang Ya?" Zhu Ziyang asked Jiang Nannan.

"No," Jiang Nannan shook her head and said, "I hadn't even had a chance to speak when she interrupted me, so I didn't continue."

"Uh~" Tang Ya then remembered that she had indeed interrupted Jiang Nannan that morning, and laughed awkwardly, saying, "I was just worried about being late, wasn't I? Okay, Nannan, just say it again!"

Tang Ya tugged at Jiang Nannan's arm, acting coquettishly. Jiang Nannan smiled helplessly and said, "Actually, there's no other reason. It's just that I bought a treasure that suits me perfectly at the exchange meeting a few days ago."

"Oh, I see!" Tang Ya exclaimed in sudden realization. "No wonder you two left without saying goodbye that day, leaving Bei Bei and me waiting there like idiots for over half an hour! Turns out you got something good!"

"Hehe!" Jiang Nannan smiled shyly and said, "I left in such a hurry that day that I forgot to say goodbye."

"Alright! So many days have passed, and my sister Xiaoya is a magnanimous person, so I won't hold it against you." Tang Ya was quite satisfied with Jiang Nannan's explanation and said with a light laugh.

"Ziyang, when is Nannan planning to hunt for her third spirit ring?" After hearing so much, Beibei understood the situation and asked, "Is she planning to have the academy assist her?"

"That's right." Zhu Ziyang nodded and replied, "We'll set off this afternoon."

"Really? Then congratulations to Nan Nan in advance!" Yu Beibei said with a smile, but a sense of urgency unconsciously arose in her heart. It seemed that she would have to work even harder!

-

in the afternoon.

After asking Xia Yu for leave, Zhu Ziyang took Jiang Nannan to the shore of Poseidon Lake to wait.

"Brother, what are we doing here?" Jiang Nannan asked, somewhat puzzled. "Aren't we going to find Dean Yan?"

"No need," Zhu Ziyang said with a smile. "We'll just wait here for a while, and someone will come looking for us."

As he spoke, he pondered who this old fellow Mu En was referring to could be. Perhaps he was one of the elders of the Sea God Pavilion? Otherwise, Mu En wouldn't have used such a familiar tone.

"Oh! Okay!" Jiang Nannan nodded, not saying anything more, but her gaze couldn't help but drift towards the lake, where Seagod Island was located, the inner courtyard. Jiang Nannan had fantasized more than once about entering the inner courtyard together with her brother Ziyang, becoming inner courtyard disciples together, together... Unconsciously, she was thinking a little too much, her girlish heart burning with passion. She was already a Soul Master, getting closer and closer to that goal!

The two did not wait long before a person flew over from the mountain on the lake.

At first it was a black dot, but in the blink of an eye it turned into an old woman with white hair and a youthful face, and landed in front of the two of them.

"Old Song!" Zhu Ziyang was somewhat surprised and quickly pulled Jiang Nannan forward to greet him.

"Old Song!" Jiang Nannan wondered to herself, but seeing that her brother Ziyang was so cautious, she couldn't help but be curious about the identity of the old woman in front of her.

"Hehe! Long time no see, little one." Old Song's face was kind and his voice gentle as he said, "Is this little girl the one who needs to hunt for her third spirit ring?"

"Yes, Elder Song," Zhu Ziyang replied, then introduced him to Jiang Nannan, "Nannan, this is Elder Song, one of the elders of the Sea God Pavilion, a level 97 Super Douluo!"

"!" Upon hearing this, Jiang Nannan's eyes widened in shock. She then respectfully said, "Hello, Elder Song. My name is Jiang Nannan, a level 30 Quasi-Soul Venerable."

"Excellent! A fine young lady!" Old Song said with satisfaction in his eyes, "What is your martial spirit?"

"My martial soul is a mutated soft-boned rabbit, Elder Song," Jiang Nannan replied obediently.

"A Soft-Boned Rabbit!" A hint of surprise flashed in Old Song's eyes. He nodded and said, "I understand. You should prepare your luggage. This trip may take more than a month!"

"I'm all ready, Elder Song." Zhu Ziyang smiled and raised his right hand, with the Star Flame Ring on his ring finger.

"Alright, let's go!" Old Song said without further delay.

The three left Shrek Academy and headed south.

"Elder Song, are we heading to the Star Luo Empire?" Zhu Ziyang asked with some confusion on the way.

The Mingdou Mountains are located at the junction of the Heavenly Soul Empire, the Sun Moon Empire, and the Star Luo Empire. In terms of location, they should be west of Shrek Academy. They should have headed directly west from Shrek Academy.

"That's right," Elder Song replied. "Let me finish my own business first, and then I'll show you around the continent. After that, I'll take you to the Mingdou Mountains to help Nan Nan find her soul ring."

"Oh!" Zhu Ziyang nodded. What could he say? He had no choice but to obediently follow along.

-

three days later.

Zhu Ziyang and his two companions arrived at the Julin Province of the Star Luo Empire.

Julin Province, as its name suggests, is a province with a vast forest, which is obviously the Star Dou Great Forest. All of the Star Dou Great Forest within the Star Luo Empire is located within Julin Province. From here onwards, it is no longer within the traditional sphere of influence of Shrek Academy.

What does that mean?

Four thousand years ago, Shrek Academy's Soul Masters began offering free Soul Awakening to all eligible children within a 100-kilometer radius of the academy. This action clearly infringed upon the interests of the nobles of the three great empires. The nobles of these empires united to pressure their respective royal families, who in turn pressured Shrek Academy. Although Shrek Academy offered Soul Awakening to commoners, it remained essentially aristocratic in nature. Therefore, under the combined pressure from the nobles and the royal families, the then-dean of Shrek Academy ultimately compromised, promising to only offer free Soul Awakening to residents within a 100-kilometer radius of the academy, and promising never to overstep the boundaries. He then resigned from his position amidst immense opposition within the academy.

Only after receiving a promise from Shrek Academy did the nobles and royalty, who felt threatened and fearful, give up.

However, although the dean resigned, from that time onwards, the land within a hundred kilometers of the academy became the Shrek Academy's exclusive zone, as tacitly agreed upon by various countries. Apart from the fact that all the urban land, population, and tax revenue within this area still belonged to the three great empires, all martial soul awakening opportunities within this area belonged to Shrek Academy.

This is why most of the Soul Masters in this area are from Shrek Academy; those with talent go to the academy, while those without talent stay in Shrek City.

Compared to other parts of the mainland, the commoners in Shrek's exclusive zone are undoubtedly lucky.

After the three entered the Julin Province, Zhu Ziyang was very puzzled to find that Elder Song had actually left the main road and taken a side road instead. This meant that Elder Song's destination was not a major city of the Star Luo Empire, but the desolate mountains and wilderness outside the city.

This made Zhu Ziyang quite curious, and he began to speculate about Song Lao's purpose.

However, before Zhu Ziyang could even guess what was going on, Old Song told them her purpose.

"Ziyang, Nannan, do you see that village over there?" Old Song asked the two, pointing to the small village that appeared not far away.

"We saw it." The two nodded.

Looking at the small village that resembled Zhangyang Village, Zhu Ziyang suddenly realized what Old Song wanted to do.

"We'll go there, and I'll teach you how to perform the Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony for the children," Old Song said with a smile.

Sure enough! Upon hearing this, Zhu Ziyang felt a surge of joy. This inexplicable joy was very complex, and he couldn't quite put his finger on it, yet he had a feeling that the wrong turns he had taken these past few days hadn't been in vain.

(End of this chapter)