Zhu Ziyang directly entered the Great Fierce Land of the Star Dou Great Forest. There, he saw a lake filled with life force. He figured this must be the true core of the Star Dou Great Forest, the Lake of Life.
He stood by the lake, his expression calm, but his heart was extremely vigilant. He could sense a terrifying being deep within the Lake of Life. With his current strength, this being was still not to be underestimated. This made Zhu Ziyang very curious, as such a being must at least be a God-level existence.
"Ziyang-ge!" Just then, a sweet cry interrupted his thoughts. He turned to look and saw Fifth Huan'er running towards him, her face full of pleasant surprise. Behind her followed the two fierce Spirit Beasts, Di Tian and Bi Ji.
"Huan Er!" Zhu Ziyang immediately hugged Fifth Huan'er, then picked her up and spun her around a few times in the air before setting her down. His gaze then fell on Di Tian and Bi Ji. He said, "Long time no see, Esteemed Di Tian, Esteemed Bi Ji."
"Human, your..." Di Tian's gaze fell on Zhu Ziyang, his pupils involuntarily constricted sharply, and then he said with a hint of shock, "Your cultivation!"
"Heh heh, I was in seclusion for a year and fortunately reached level 99," Zhu Ziyang said with a faint smile, "Esteemed Di Tian, I presume you understand my purpose in coming here, right?"
"Yes!" Di Tian suppressed the shock in his heart and nodded, saying, "We have already prepared everything and are just waiting for your notification."
"That's excellent," Zhu Ziyang said, a satisfied smile appearing on his face, "Our Academy is also ready. We can now discuss the time and place for the first cooperation between humans and Spirit Beasts. To show the sincerity of our Shrek Academy, I suggest we set the location in the Star Dou Great Forest, how about that?"
"Let's set it in the border area," Di Tian looked deeply at Zhu Ziyang and said, "If it's too deep, it will disrupt the order within the Star Dou Great Forest."
"Alright!" Zhu Ziyang nodded, not refusing. "Then what about the time?"
"How about three days from now?" Di Tian said.
"Then it's decided. Three days from now, at the northern border area of the Star Dou Great Forest, directly opposite Shrek Academy, I will bring the people from our Shrek Academy to arrive on time," Zhu Ziyang said.
"Okay!" Di Tian nodded and said, "Our Star Dou Great Forest will also never go back on our word."
"Since that's the case, I'll head back to the Academy to prepare first," Zhu Ziyang said with a faint smile, "I'll also be taking Huan Er with me."
Upon hearing this, Fifth Huan'er's pretty face immediately filled with smiles, and she tightly hugged Zhu Ziyang's arm, expressing her attitude.
Di Tian and Bi Ji, seeing this, despite their extreme reluctance, could only agree. Not to mention whether their refusal would have any effect, simply having a conflict right after agreeing to cooperate with Zhu Ziyang was truly inappropriate. Most importantly, Di Tian was now very wary of Zhu Ziyang's strength.
A year ago, Zhu Ziyang's cultivation was only level 97, yet he could already make Di Tian feel danger. Now, he couldn't even see through this human directly. Although he hadn't taken that final step yet, according to Di Tian's own perception, Zhu Ziyang was probably not far from taking that step.
Considering all factors, Di Tian still allowed Zhu Ziyang to take Fifth Huan'er. He was unwilling to provoke a human who was about to become a god.
As for the luck carried by the Auspicious Beast, in fact, he wasn't worried. With Zhu Ziyang present, there were virtually no beings on the continent that could harm the Auspicious Beast, let alone covet the Spirit Beast's luck on her. When the Auspicious Beast followed Zhu Ziyang to the God Realm and left the Douluo Continent, her luck would automatically detach and return to the heavens and earth. At that time, a new Auspicious Beast would be born in the Star Dou Great Forest or other Spirit Beast habitats on the continent. As long as Spirit Beasts were not extinct, the luck of the Spirit Beast race would always remain.
Zhu Ziyang returned to Shrek Academy with Fifth Huan'er.
Zhu Ziyang left Fifth Huan'er in his room to play with Xingcai, Xiong Da, and Xiong Er, while he himself turned and went to Tian Yuan Pavilion. The elders of Tian Yuan Pavilion had already sensed Zhu Ziyang's return. In fact, Zhu Ziyang hadn't hidden his aura precisely so that they would sense it and come directly to him, saving him the trouble of having to find someone to notify them.
Not long after he sat down in the Tian Yuan Pavilion hall, Cai Meier and Xian Lin'er arrived together.
"Two Senior Sisters, why is it just the two of you? Where are Senior Brother and Third Senior Brother? What about Elder Xuan and Elder Lin?" Zhu Ziyang asked, a little surprised.
"It's all because of you!" Xian Lin'er rolled her eyes at Zhu Ziyang, but her tone was full of gratitude. She said, "Didn't you leave us three Source Golden Pills? Elder Xuan and the others are all in seclusion. Only us two sisters are unlucky enough to be left behind to look after the Academy's affairs."
"So that's it," Zhu Ziyang said, enlightened, then smiled and continued, "Then, two Senior Sisters, how are the preparations for the matters I entrusted to you coming along?"
"Starting two months ago, we've been selecting suitable Inner Courtyard Disciples. By now, more than ten disciples with missing spirit rings can participate in the first batch of the Soul Spirit System's construction," Cai Meier said.
"Is that so?" Zhu Ziyang said, a hint of satisfaction on his face, and smiled, "That's excellent. I have already discussed it with Di Tian. Three days from now, at the border of the Star Dou Great Forest, we will begin the first construction of the Soul Spirit System."
"Really!" Xian Lin'er and Cai Meier both showed signs of excitement. Clearly, they were also very interested in the existence of Soul Spirits. If it weren't for the fact that they no longer needed spirit rings, they would probably have personally experienced it. After all, both Xian Lin'er and Cai Meier were the kind of innovative talents who were brave enough to explore and practice.
"Two Senior Sisters, gather this group of disciples. They are the protagonists of this matter. We can't let the protagonists remain confused and not know what they're supposed to do!"
"Alright," Xian Lin'er and Cai Meier nodded and said, "Wait here, we'll go find them now."
With that, the two deans left.
Both of them were decisive and practical, always working with extreme efficiency. They didn't make Zhu Ziyang wait too long before returning to Tian Yuan Pavilion with a group of disciples.
"Pavilion Master, they are here," Xian Lin'er stood outside Tian Yuan Pavilion and respectfully called out. Because there were disciples present, Xian Lin'er respectfully addressed Zhu Ziyang as Pavilion Master. She handled the sense of propriety very well, not being overly casual or unrestrained just because she was Zhu Ziyang's Senior Sister. Cai Meier was the same.
Zhu Ziyang walked out of Tian Yuan Pavilion and first surveyed the more than ten disciples they had brought. With one glance, he saw, ah, they were all familiar faces: Bei Bei, Tang Ya, Huo Yuhao, Xu Sanshi, Zhou Tianhe, Chu Hua, Ning Tian, Wu Feng, Xie Huanyue, and a few other Inner Courtyard Disciples who usually spent little time in the Academy.
"Everyone has always been very puzzled as to why the Academy asked you to come here, and I won't beat around the bush," Zhu Ziyang chuckled and went straight to the point, "Next, I will show you the Academy's latest research achievement. It's no exaggeration to say that this research achievement will change the landscape of the future Spirit Master's world."
With a thought, Snow Empress appeared beside him.
Seeing a peerlessly beautiful woman in white suddenly appear beside Zhu Ziyang, the dozen or so Inner Courtyard Disciples were very surprised. Among them, Huo Yuhao was the most surprised, his eyes flickering with a strange light. Clearly, he had already learned the identity of this woman from Tianmeng Iceworm.
"She is Snow Empress, my first Soul Spirit, and also the first Soul Spirit on the Douluo Continent," Zhu Ziyang said, his voice calm, yet it immediately drew the attention of the more than ten disciples. "Soul Spirit, this is the research achievement I want to show you. And what you are about to participate in is the construction of the Soul Spirit System."
"I imagine you are full of questions right now, but I will not answer them one by one for you. I will only tell you a few important concepts. Other questions will be answered once you possess a Soul Spirit."
"First, a Soul Spirit, as the name suggests, is the spirit of a spirit ring, an ethereal existence born from a Spirit Beast and a spirit ring. After a special contract, it possesses the Spirit Beast's wisdom and combat abilities from its lifetime."
"Secondly, the essence of a Soul Spirit is the same as a spirit ring; both require a Spirit Master to provide a spirit ring slot. However, compared to spirit rings, the conditions for a Soul Spirit's birth are more stringent."
"Finally, the strength of a Soul Spirit can increase alongside the Spirit Master's strength. A Soul Spirit born from a hundred-year spirit ring has the chance to advance that hundred-year spirit ring to a thousand-year spirit ring."
"That's all I have to say. Three days from now, I will take you to acquire your own Soul Spirits. Of course, if anyone is unwilling to contract a Soul Spirit, you can choose to withdraw now."
No one chose to withdraw. Whether out of curiosity or trust in Zhu Ziyang, no one withdrew.
Zhu Ziyang was very satisfied, and Xian Lin'er and Cai Meier were also very satisfied.