Although he knew he would face many troubles after coming out of seclusion, Zhu Ziyang still walked out of Tian Yuan Pavilion after simple preparations.
"Hoo!" Standing outside Tian Yuan Pavilion, looking at the clear blue sky, Zhu Ziyang couldn't help but stretch, letting out a light sigh, a bright smile on his face.
"Ziyang! You're out of seclusion?!" At this moment, a surprised voice came from not far away. He turned his head to look and saw it was Yan Shaozhe, accompanied by Cai Meier, Xian Lin'er, and Qian Duoduo.
"Yes, Senior Brother," Zhu Ziyang said with a smile, his gaze falling on Xian Lin'er and Qian Duoduo, feeling something. "Senior Sister, Third Senior Brother, you're back at the Academy, so it seems Sister Lexuan's matter went smoothly!"
However, to Zhu Ziyang's surprise, despite his smiling face, Xian Lin'er uncharacteristically rolled her eyes at him, snorting coldly, "Hmph! Scumbag!"
"Huh?" Zhu Ziyang was stunned, a bit confused. When he tried to ask Xian Lin'er why she said that, Xian Lin'er had already turned and left, accompanied by Cai Meier, leaving only Senior Brothers Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo standing there, smiling awkwardly.
"Senior Brother, Third Senior Brother, did I offend the two Senior Sisters in some way?" Zhu Ziyang felt even more dejected, looking at Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo in confusion, and asked.
"Uh, that," Qian Duoduo chuckled awkwardly, saying, "Ziyang, don't you know? Le Xuan gave birth to two children for you!"
"Huh?" Upon hearing this, Zhu Ziyang froze, his face full of shock, his mouth agape, and he asked dazedly, "When did that happen?"
"It was while you were in seclusion, about three or four months ago," Qian Duoduo said.
"This..." Zhu Ziyang was completely bewildered, as he had never imagined that what Zhang Lexuan said during their intimacy back then was serious. He was really a father? An indescribable emotion arose in Zhu Ziyang's heart, an emotion mixed with fear, anticipation, excitement, and bewilderment, making his expression complex.
Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo did not disturb Zhu Ziyang. In fact, both of them were feeling quite wistful at this moment. They exchanged glances, seeing the helplessness and envy in each other's eyes. Alas, they truly envied Zhu Ziyang. Not only was his talent exceptional and his cultivation later surpassed theirs, but his love life was also better than theirs, and he even had children. How could they, as his Senior Brothers, bear this!
After a long while, Zhu Ziyang finally composed himself. He suppressed the urge to go to the Sun Moon Empire, looked at Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo, and asked, "Senior Brothers, please tell me what has happened over the past year first."
"Alright," Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo nodded in agreement. Then, the two of them, one on each side, began to answer Zhu Ziyang's questions and recount the events.
Firstly, the most important and attention-grabbing event on the continent during Zhu Ziyang's year of seclusion was, naturally, the ascension of the new Empress of the Sun Moon Empire.
Yes, Zhang Lexuan had successfully ascended the throne in the Sun Moon Empire, becoming the new Empress of the Sun Moon Empire. Her ability to ascend the throne naturally meant that she, or rather her team, had managed to completely control the Sun Moon Empire.
This was indeed the case. According to Qian Duoduo, a direct participant in the events, all of the Sun Moon Empire's current armies were now under Zhang Lexuan's control. Note, they were controlled by Zhang Lexuan, not her team, which meant that all of the Sun Moon Empire's current armies were, in fact, Zhang Lexuan's private army.
Why was Zhang Lexuan able to achieve this? This was actually related to three individuals.
The first person was naturally Zhu Ziyang's Soul Spirit, Quan Er. As a Limit Douluo-level powerhouse, Quan Er provided the strength guarantee for Zhang Lexuan to control all of the Sun Moon Empire's armies. The second person was Kong Deming. As the recognized pillar of the Sun Moon Empire, Kong Deming's allegiance brought Zhang Lexuan immense prestige. The third person, to Zhu Ziyang's surprise, was actually the former Crown Prince's concubine, Ju Zi. Ju Zi's identity was very special; not only was she the former Crown Princess, but she was also a legion commander who rose from ordinary soldiers, deeply loved by the common soldiers. It was unknown how Zhang Lexuan managed to win over Ju Zi.
After Zhang Lexuan's ascension, she launched a series of actions and reforms within the Sun Moon Empire with great momentum, which eased the tension that the original Douluo Three Kingdoms had felt due to her ascension. This was because Zhang Lexuan's series of actions made it seem impossible for her to launch a war in a short period, which was what the original Douluo Three Kingdoms wanted to see.
Secondly, there were some personal matters that Zhu Ziyang was concerned about.
Jiang Nannan came out of seclusion two months ago. Her spirit power reached level 89. After choosing a Spirit Bone from the Inner Courtyard's Treasure Pavilion, she left the Academy. As for where she went, she said she was going to find Zhang Lexuan. Ah, ha ha, so, Jiang Nannan should now be a Titled Douluo.
Ma Xiaotao briefly came out of seclusion half a year ago. After seeing that Zhu Ziyang and the others were all in seclusion, she rested for two or three days and then chose to go back into seclusion. When she came out last time, her cultivation had already reached level 94, not far from level 95, which made Yan Shaozhe, Cai Meier, and others incredibly envious.
Qian Lingyi was the earliest of the three women to come out of seclusion. Less than three months after Zhu Ziyang entered seclusion, she emerged, her cultivation also reaching the Spirit Douluo level. After obtaining her eighth spirit ring through a Soul Spirit, she chose to leave the Academy for external training. Before leaving, she left a message for Zhu Ziyang: The Angel God is never cultivated, but rather sublimated through the process of purifying the world's evils.
Oh, right, and Huo Yuhao. Not long after he and Zhu Ziyang returned from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, he also chose to go into seclusion. However, after half a year of seclusion, he came out and subsequently left the Academy. The reason, which made Yan Shaozhe feel ashamed, was that Xiao Xiao in the Golden Ancient Tree had disappeared, and Wang Dong'er disappeared with her.
Clearly, Xiao Xiao was taken away by Wang Dong'er. In the first few days after the two disappeared, the Academy and Tang Sect immediately dispatched a large number of people to search for them, even going specifically to the Clear Sky Sect, but there were no results. Perhaps Wang Dong'er was within the Clear Sky Sect, but the people of the Clear Sky Sect showed no intention of discussing it with them, even forcefully driving them all away. For this, Xuan Zi, whose injuries had just healed, was injured again.
In desperation, Tang Ya had no choice but to awaken the secluded Huo Yuhao and tell him the whole story. Huo Yuhao's reaction at the time was extremely intense, but when he came out after entering the Golden Ancient Tree, he became calm. He then left the Academy to gain experience. Before leaving, he also left a message for Zhu Ziyang, saying: Senior Brother, I will definitely find a way to become a god and bring Xiao Xiao back!
Regarding this matter, Zhu Ziyang knew without guessing that it was definitely the Sea God King who acted. As for why he kidnapped Xiao Xiao's body again, it might be that he wanted Xiao Xiao to also become a chess piece he used to control Huo Yuhao. However, what puzzled Zhu Ziyang greatly was why the Sea God was so confident? Didn't he know that Huo Yuhao was a person with flesh, blood, and thoughts? His various actions had already incurred Huo Yuhao's hatred, did he still have some special means?
It's truly maddening.
Finally, there was the recent situation that caught Shrek Academy's attention: in the past two months, there have been frequent unusual movements within the Star Dou Great Forest, making a beast tide highly probable.
Hearing Yan Shaozhe's speculation, Zhu Ziyang's mouth twitched. Fortunately, he came out of seclusion in time, otherwise, the Star Dou Great Forest and Shrek Academy might indeed have clashed. In that case, good things would turn bad, and he would surely be filled with regret.
So, he hastily dispelled Yan Shaozhe's concerns and informed him of his and Di Tian's plan to cooperate in building the Soul Spirit System, instructing Yan Shaozhe to select a group of disciples from the Inner Courtyard who needed spirit rings in the near future. Upon hearing Zhu Ziyang's explanation, Yan Shaozhe's face was filled with surprise, and he could only nod repeatedly.
With the matters mostly understood, Zhu Ziyang could no longer suppress the excitement and anticipation in his heart. He tossed three Source Golden Pills to Yan Shaozhe, instructing him to dissolve them in water to form a medicinal liquid and distribute it among his three Senior Brothers and several core elders like Xuan Zi and Elder Lin. After that, he directly flashed away, leaving Shrek Academy and speeding towards the Sun Moon Empire.
——
At this moment, in the Sun Moon Empire, Mingdu, Imperial Palace.
A stunningly beautiful young woman, dressed in luxurious imperial robes and possessing a noble demeanor, sat in a pavilion in the garden. Beside her sat another equally beautiful, but younger, woman. Their faces always wore smiles as they whispered something. In front of them were two cribs, where two adorable, jade-like little ones lay soundly asleep.
Beside the cribs sat an older, middle-aged beautiful woman. Her face was filled with a benevolent smile, and she was knitting small clothes, clearly for the two little ones.
When Zhu Ziyang arrived and saw this scene, besides feeling warmth, only a tingling scalp told him that he either had to step forward and face death, or temporarily avoid the confrontation.
What to do, he was so flustered!