The two quickly returned to Shrek Academy.
"Brother, why did we leave in such a rush?" Once they got back, Zhu Ziyang finally slowed down, giving Jiang Nannan a chance to ask.
"Because I suspect that the Moonlight Crystal you bought might not actually be a Moonlight Crystal!" Zhu Ziyang said, startling Jiang Nannan so much her face went pale.
"What?! That can't be!" she gasped, panicked. "If it's not a Moonlight Crystal, then what is it? Don't tell me I got scammed! I spent 150,000 gold soul coins on it!"
"Nannan!" Zhu Ziyang took her soft hand and calmed her. "Listen to me—you weren't scammed. In fact, you might've gotten an incredible deal!"
"Really?" Hearing this, her anxiety subsided a little. Her teary eyes looked up at him, and the pitiful sight shattered Zhu Ziyang's composure.
"Of course! When has your big brother ever lied to you?" he said with a gentle smile, softly caressing her smooth cheek.
"You have!" she pouted. "You promised to get me a thousand-year soul ring, but then…"
"Uh…" Zhu Ziyang broke into a cold sweat and gave a wry smile. "That was for your own good! With your body back then, you couldn't handle a thousand-year soul ring!"
"Giggle~" Seeing his flustered expression, Jiang Nannan burst into laughter.
"You little brat! How dare you make fun of me?" Zhu Ziyang exclaimed. He grabbed her, pulled her onto his lap, and gave her a few playful swats.
"Ah~" she let out a soft yelp and quickly pleaded in a sweet voice, "Okay, okay! I surrender, big brother! I won't tease you again!"
"Hmph! I'll let you off this time," Zhu Ziyang said, letting her go. He hadn't really hit her—just play-acted.
"But, brother, what about that Moonlight Crystal?" After the teasing, Jiang Nannan still hadn't forgotten the crystal she'd spent 150,000 coins on.
"Let's go back to the dorm first!" Zhu Ziyang didn't answer directly and led her there. "I need to confirm something first."
"Oh, okay!" she followed him.
At Zhu Ziyang's dorm in the outer court.
"Look," he said, taking out the Moonlight Crystal. "A real Moonlight Crystal doesn't emit light and feels cold to the touch. But this one gives off a faint glow and feels slightly warm. Clearly, whoever appraised this wasn't very skilled—they couldn't spot such obvious differences."
"You're right!" Jiang Nannan observed the crystal carefully and realized it was just as Zhu Ziyang had described. She immediately lit up with excitement.
"So if it's not a Moonlight Crystal, what is it?" she asked, eyes full of curiosity.
Zhu Ziyang looked thoughtful. "I'm not sure yet—I need your help."
"Sure!" she nodded without hesitation. "What do I need to do?"
"It's simple—just inject your soul power into it," he said.
"Okay, no problem." She pressed her small hand against the crystal and sent in her soul power.
The moment her soul power entered the crystal, cracks appeared all over its surface. In the next instant, it shattered into fine silver powder. Before their astonished eyes, the powder turned into tiny glowing lights and completely vanished into the air.
"What was that…?" Jiang Nannan stared in shock, puzzled.
"It was probably congealed moonlight," Zhu Ziyang replied. But his eyes were glued to the crystal still in her hand, which had transformed completely. Excitement spread across his face. "Nannan, you've struck gold!"
"Huh?" She was confused.
"Guess what this is?" Zhu Ziyang, visibly thrilled, picked up the transformed crystal.
She looked closely—what had been a goose egg-sized irregular crystal was now the size of a pigeon egg, smooth, pure white, almost transparent, and glowing like the moon. Her eyes sparkled with fascination.
"What is it, brother?" she asked, reaching out to touch it.
Instead of answering, Zhu Ziyang turned off the dorm lights. Yet, the room wasn't plunged into darkness—it lit up like daytime.
The glow came from that pigeon egg-sized crystal!
"Yes! That's it!" he exclaimed twice, absolutely sure now of the crystal's identity.
"It's so bright!" Jiang Nannan murmured, her attention completely captured by the glowing gem.
"Hahaha! Of course it is!" Zhu Ziyang laughed, turning the lights back on and hugging her waist. "Nannan, you really hit the jackpot!"
She was still confused.
"It's called a Moonlight Spirit Crystal," he explained.
"Moonlight Spirit Crystal?" she echoed, puzzled. "Is it related to Moonlight Crystals?"
"No," Zhu Ziyang smiled. "It's a celestial treasure, one so rare and valuable it rivals a hundred-thousand-year soul bone!"
His words hit her like thunder. For a moment, she was stunned. She muttered, "A hundred-thousand-year soul bone… a hundred-thousand-year soul bone…"
"Nannan!" Zhu Ziyang called out loudly.
"Ah!" she snapped out of it, her bright eyes now twinkling with joy. "If it's as valuable as that, how many gold soul coins would it be worth?"
"Sigh… You little money-grubber!" Zhu Ziyang laughed helplessly, rubbing his forehead. "The Moonlight Spirit Crystal is the purest form of yin energy in existence—a peerless celestial treasure found once in a thousand years. And you're thinking of how much it could sell for?"
"Uh…" Jiang Nannan realized how silly that sounded and laughed awkwardly. Holding Zhu Ziyang's hand, she pouted, "I was just curious. I didn't really want to sell it, hehe."
"You…" Zhu Ziyang gently tapped her forehead. "You're really lucky. This Moonlight Spirit Crystal could evolve your martial spirit into a top-tier—or even a super—spirit!"
"Really?!" Her eyes grew even wider, filled with anticipation.
"Absolutely!" he said firmly. "This is the top-tier treasure for moon-type martial spirits. All the hard work we've done was to help your Soft Bone Rabbit evolve into something stronger. Now, with this Moonlight Spirit Crystal, we can skip many steps!"
"Yay! That's amazing!" she cheered, her eyes sparkling with joy. "I can't wait to absorb it!"
"Not so fast," Zhu Ziyang stopped her. "Using a celestial treasure like this takes proper timing. We need to wait for the full moon and a place where the moonlight can shine directly. That way, you can absorb its yin energy more effectively."
"Aw, really?" she pouted, visibly disappointed.
"Don't worry—it's just two days away. The full moon is almost here. Just wait a little longer, okay? Be patient," he said with a warm smile.