After Zhu Ziyang finished speaking, everyone dispersed, but Huo Yuhao stayed behind.
"Yu Hao, I heard from Senior Brother that you were out on an adventure. When did you return?" Zhu Ziyang asked curiously, as he noticed a strange divine force emanating from Huo Yuhao, a divine force vastly different from the Sea God's divine force, clearly belonging to a different god.
"I returned half a month ago," Huo Yuhao said, scratching the back of his head. "I heard from Teacher Tang Ya that Dean Xian Lin'er was recruiting disciples whose spirit power had reached a bottleneck. My spirit power just happened to reach level 70, so I came over."
"I see." Zhu Ziyang was slightly surprised, sighing inwardly. As expected of the Son of Destiny, in less than two years, he had advanced from a Spirit King of over fifty levels to a Spirit Saint. This speed was truly unmatched. He then asked, "What do you plan to do after obtaining a Soul Spirit?"
"I don't know." Huo Yuhao shook his head, looking somewhat lost. "Perhaps I'll travel the Douluo Continent, or maybe I'll stay in the Academy to cultivate in seclusion. I want to find Xiao Xiao, but my strength isn't enough. I want to get revenge, but my strength isn't enough. I'm truly useless; I can't do anything!"
"Don't give up on yourself!" Zhu Ziyang said, patting Huo Yuhao's shoulder comfortingly. "You're only nineteen. There's no need to push yourself so hard. Relaxing appropriately will allow you to progress better!"
"I..." Huo Yuhao opened his mouth but didn't get a chance to speak.
"Once I've dealt with the Soul Spirit System matters, you can come with me to the Clear Sky Sect," Zhu Ziyang said, a stern expression on his face. "No matter what, Xiao Xiao is a member of our Shrek Academy. If she was indeed abducted by someone from the Clear Sky Sect, then as the leader of Shrek Academy, I will absolutely not let it go unaddressed!
What's more, the Clear Sky Sect dared to injure the Vice Pavilion Master of my Tian Yuan Pavilion. This is simply showing too little regard for me, the Pavilion Master of Tian Yuan Pavilion!
Therefore, no matter what, the Clear Sky Sect must give us an explanation!"
"Senior Brother, really?!" Huo Yuhao's face regained a trace of color upon hearing Zhu Ziyang's resolute tone. He was a little excited and said, "I understand. Thank you, Senior Brother!"
"Hehe," Zhu Ziyang said, patting Huo Yuhao's shoulder. "You must remember, if you give up on yourself, then no one else will help you. So, Yu Hao, your future is still very long!"
"Mm-hmm!" Huo Yuhao's eyes regained their former brilliance, and he nodded seriously in agreement.
—
Soon, the day of Zhu Ziyang's appointment with Di Tian arrived.
Zhu Ziyang, Cai Meier, and Old Lin, accompanied by Bei Bei, Huo Yuhao, and eleven other Inner Courtyard Disciples, arrived early at the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest, waiting for the Spirit Beast side to appear.
It's worth mentioning that Old Lin emerged from her seclusion yesterday. Thanks to the Source Golden Pill and Old Mu's guidance, her spirit power finally reached level 99. Although her level 99 had some caveats, there was no doubt that her strength had undergone a qualitative improvement.
In fact, for veterans like Old Lin, Old Song, and Old Zhuang, who were over 150 years old, their potential had already been exhausted. Without a fortuitous encounter like the Source Golden Pill, it would have been highly unlikely for them to advance further in this lifetime. Among the current members of Tian Yuan Pavilion, excluding the younger generation like Zhu Ziyang and Ma Xiaotao, only Yan Shaozhe, Xian Lin'er, and Xuan Zi, these two and a half people, truly had a chance to reach the Limit Douluo realm based on their own talent.
Uh, Xuan Zi counted as half. His Spirit was very powerful, but his potential had been used up. The only way for him to advance was for his Spirit to evolve, but the difficulty of Spirit evolution was no less than the difficulty of a level 98 advancing to a level 99 Limit Douluo, so he counted as half.
Ahem, I've strayed too far. After Old Lin emerged from seclusion, Zhu Ziyang informed her of the Soul Spirit System plan and appointed her as the person in charge of constructing the Soul Spirit System. Old Lin happily agreed. Although she was very old, she was, at heart, someone who enjoyed pursuing new things, and Soul Spirits were undoubtedly a fresh existence.
"No matter what you see later, don't be surprised," Zhu Ziyang said to Bei Bei and the others. "Signing a Soul Spirit contract requires the agreement of both the Spirit Master and the Spirit Beast. Therefore, the construction of the Soul Spirit System requires cooperation with the Spirit Beast race, which is why we came to the Star Dou Great Forest. If all goes as expected, you will soon have the opportunity to see the most powerful Spirit Beasts on the Douluo Continent."
Upon hearing Zhu Ziyang's words, disciples like Bei Bei, Tang Ya, and Xu Sanshi showed various reactions: surprise, anticipation, and even nervousness. In short, these were all normal emotional responses and didn't require too much attention.
"We are late, please forgive us." Soon, the Spirit Beast race appeared. The leader was naturally Di Tian, but it was Bi Ji who spoke, as Bi Ji would be the person in charge of the Spirit Beast side.
Behind Di Tian and Bi Ji were the Lich King, Xiong Jun, and Chi Wang, the three fierce beasts. Each of them brought a group of Spirit Beasts, ranging from thousand-year to ten-thousand-year, of various types.
"It's alright, we just arrived recently," Zhu Ziyang said with a slight smile, then stepped forward. Old Lin and Xian Lin'er followed closely behind him.
Di Tian and Bi Ji landed in front of Zhu Ziyang. Ten Thousand Demon King, Xiong Jun, and Chi Wang, after setting down the Spirit Beasts they brought, immediately came to stand behind the two.
"Alright, no more nonsense, let's start immediately," Di Tian said coldly. A hint of anticipation could be seen in his eyes. Clearly, he was also very curious about what a Soul Spirit contract was truly like.
"Of course," Zhu Ziyang said with a faint smile. "But before that, I need to introduce an elder. This is Old Lin. She will represent me and be fully responsible for the construction and development of the Soul Spirit System."
"This old woman, Lin Huiqun, Vice Pavilion Master of Shrek Academy's Tian Yuan Pavilion, with the title Tian He, greets the Beast Kings." Old Lin stepped forward and said, adopting a very humble posture, showing no arrogance despite being a Limit Douluo.
Upon seeing Old Lin, Di Tian's eyes couldn't help but show a hint of surprise. He naturally recognized Old Lin's strength, which was why he was surprised. However, his surprise was limited; she was merely a frail old woman. He was confident he could suppress her with one hand, after all, how many Zhu Ziyangs or Mu Ens were there in this World?
However, out of respect for the cooperation, Di Tian still gave Bi Ji a look, and Bi Ji naturally understood. She stepped forward and said, "I am Bi Ji. I will be responsible for the Soul Spirit System matters of the Spirit Beast race from now on. Your Excellency Tian He, it's a pleasure to cooperate."
"Senior Bi Ji, it's a pleasure to cooperate." Their hands clasped together, one aged and one fair, a striking contrast, yet no one paid attention to these minor details.
"Alright, then let's begin," Zhu Ziyang said, looking at Di Tian. "First, let me introduce the disciples of our Shrek Academy, so that the esteemed Beast Kings can see the sincerity of our Shrek Academy."
He walked to the thirteen disciples. The thirteen disciples, led by Bei Bei, lined up in a row, quietly waiting for Zhu Ziyang's introduction. However, their eyes moved, sizing up the Spirit Beast side.
"This is Bei Bei, the great-grandson of my teacher, Dragon God Douluo Mu En. He is twenty-two years old, level 80, with a Light Holy Dragon Spirit.
Xu Sanshi, a core Inner Courtyard Disciple of Shrek Academy, twenty-two years old, level 80, with a Black Tortoise Shield Spirit.
Tang Ya, a core Inner Courtyard Disciple of Shrek Academy, twenty-two years old, level 70, with a Blue Gold Immortal Spirit Grass Spirit.
This Huo Yuhao is one of the closed-door disciples of my teacher, Dragon God Douluo Mu En, my Junior Brother. He is nineteen years old, level 70, with an Eye Spirit.
Zhou Tianhe..."
Zhu Ziyang quickly finished introducing the thirteen Inner Courtyard Disciples. He observed the reactions of Di Tian and the others, noticing that Di Tian only showed a slight surprise when he heard the information about Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Tang Ya, and Huo Yuhao. He was indifferent to the other nine disciples.
It was understandable, after all, the four of them were indeed the most outstanding among these thirteen disciples. Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi needed no further explanation; a Spirit Douluo at twenty-two years old was a rare genius in the history of Spirit Masters. Tang Ya was special because of her Spirit, the Blue Gold Immortal Spirit Grass, a top-tier plant Spirit with wood and life attributes. Although it was a mutated Spirit, its strength was undeniable. Old Zhuang had tried to take her as a disciple more than once.
Finally, there was Huo Yuhao. Although his talent was equally astonishing, what Di Tian cared about was his identity: Zhu Ziyang's Junior Brother and Mu En's closed-door disciple. This indicated that Huo Yuhao was by no means as simple as he appeared on the surface.
"We have brought thirty-five Spirit Beasts, seventeen of which have cultivation levels of ten thousand years or more," Bi Ji said at this point. "They all come from relatively powerful Spirit Beast races within my Star Dou Great Forest, and many of them are outstanding individuals with Dragon bloodline and Golden bloodline. I won't introduce them one by one, because when you Spirit Masters choose spirit rings, you focus on the compatibility with your Spirit. So, let you choose the Spirit Beast you desire."
"Go!" Zhu Ziyang said to the thirteen Inner Courtyard Disciples.
The thirteen Inner Courtyard Disciples did not hesitate and immediately walked towards the thirty-odd Spirit Beasts. Among them, the first batch of beneficiaries and supporters of the Soul Spirit System would be born.
It is believed that from today onwards, a brand new page will be turned in the history of relations between Spirit Masters and Spirit Beasts!