Two days later, at night.
Inside Zhu Ziyang's dorm.
"All right, tonight is the full moon. Let's find a spot with strong moonlight so you can absorb the Moonlight Spirit Crystal," Zhu Ziyang said.
"Mm!" Jiang Nannan nodded eagerly and hugged his arm. "Let's go! I've been so anxious these past two days!"
They left the dormitory.
They found a quiet, secluded grassy spot under direct moonlight in the woods near the freshman dorm. It was rarely visited, even during the day, and perfect for their purpose.
"Here's good," said Zhu Ziyang.
"Mm!" Jiang Nannan sat cross-legged on the grass. The soft moonlight cast upon her gave her already breathtaking beauty a mysterious and noble aura.
"Place the Moonlight Spirit Crystal in your mouth, activate your martial spirit, and absorb it with all your strength," Zhu Ziyang instructed.
Jiang Nannan immediately followed his instructions, placing the crystal into her mouth, closing her eyes, and channeling her martial spirit. Under the moonlight, her body slowly absorbed its glow. A pink-white rabbit-shaped spirit projection appeared, eyes closed and mouth gently inhaling the moonlight.
Zhu Ziyang looked on with satisfaction. Jiang Nannan's Soft Bone Rabbit martial spirit originally contained only a faint trace of moon bloodline. After receiving two soul rings, it had increased somewhat—but Zhu Ziyang initially estimated it would take five rings to evolve it into a high-level spirit.
But fate had other plans—the Moonlight Spirit Crystal shattered all of his calculations. Not that he minded—on the contrary, he was thrilled and wished for more miracles like this.
He was certain that once Jiang Nannan finished absorbing the crystal, her bloodline would evolve into the True Lunar Moon Bloodline! With that, a high-level martial spirit would be just the beginning—there was even a chance for it to reach super martial spirit level!
He couldn't help but grow excited thinking about what kind of spirit would result from a Soft Bone Rabbit fused with pure moon blood.
Time passed. Jiang Nannan was soon encased in a silver-white mist, forming a cocoon that greedily absorbed the moonlight. If one looked closely, a faint tunnel of light seemed to link the moon in the sky with the glowing cocoon on the ground.
Clearly, such a spectacle couldn't go unnoticed. Sure enough, on Sea God Island, someone had picked up on it.
"Is there another moon-type martial spirit user in the academy?" Zhang Lexuan stood by her window, looking toward the outer court with a puzzled expression. After a moment's thought and no answers, she dismissed it.
——
As midnight approached, Zhu Ziyang sat calmly beside the cocoon, watching it intently.
Finally, at the break of dawn, Jiang Nannan completed the absorption. The silver cocoon cracked, dissolving into streams of silver light that flowed into her now-visible body. Behind her, her martial spirit still appeared cocooned in light—an unusual sight.
But Zhu Ziyang was thrilled. This indicated her martial spirit was undergoing evolution and only needed one final push to break through its limitations and transform into something greater.
That push would be easy to provide.
The spirit projection faded. Jiang Nannan opened her eyes excitedly and stood up. Looking at Zhu Ziyang, she exclaimed, "Brother!"
After absorbing the Moonlight Spirit Crystal, her entire aura had changed. Her gentle presence was now laced with a cool, noble elegance. Her golden hair shone even brighter, and her eyes had turned a mysterious silvery-red, like moonlight itself.
Zhu Ziyang was momentarily stunned.
"Well? How do you feel?" he asked with a joyful smile.
"Ah! My soul power broke through! Brother, I reached the next level!" she cried excitedly. Her noble aura was replaced by girlish joy, but Zhu Ziyang didn't mind—he was focused on her words.
"My soul power reached level 30!"
"Really?" Zhu Ziyang's eyes lit up. He wasn't overly surprised—after all, a celestial treasure like that was bound to boost her power. In fact, he guessed she might gain two or three more levels after obtaining her next soul ring. He asked, "And what about your martial spirit?"
"It's still the Soft Bone Rabbit, but I can feel it changing—it's about to evolve! It just needs one final trigger!" she replied, hugging him tightly. Her bright eyes were filled with joy, excitement, and deep affection.
"That's great news." Zhu Ziyang hugged her back and touched her flushed cheek thoughtfully. "That trigger is most likely the absorption of your third soul ring."
"Mm-hmm!" she nodded enthusiastically like a hamster, adorably cute.
"It's getting late. Let's go back and rest. This afternoon, I'll go ask Dean Yan for permission to take you to hunt your third soul ring," he said, gently stroking her hair.
"Yay! This time I must get a thousand-year soul ring!" she said excitedly, her face glowing with anticipation.
"Of course you will," Zhu Ziyang said with a smile.
They returned to the dormitory.
At the entrance, Zhu Ziyang was surprised to see Mu En lying on a bamboo chair by the door.
Mu En seemed to sense their approach. He opened his eyes slightly and, upon recognizing Zhu Ziyang, showed a look of mild surprise and inquiry. But when his eyes fell on Jiang Nannan, that surprise grew—just days ago, she had only been at level 27. How had she reached level 30 so quickly?
The old man lowered his gaze again and said with a raspy voice, "What took you so long?"
"Hehe, sorry to disturb you, Grandpa," Jiang Nannan replied playfully, her mood still light.
"Next time, don't return so late," Mu En scolded in a low tone.
"Yes, sir!" Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan quickly responded.
"Go on." Mu En waved them in.
"Thank you," Zhu Ziyang said as he led Jiang Nannan inside.
"Brother, who is that old man? Why is he always lying there by the dorm entrance?" Jiang Nannan asked, glancing back at Mu En in curiosity.
"I don't know for sure," Zhu Ziyang replied vaguely. "But anyone who lives at Shrek Academy definitely isn't an ordinary person. Let's go up."
"Okay! Goodnight!" Jiang Nannan tiptoed and kissed him on the cheek, then blushed and ran upstairs.
"This little rascal…" Zhu Ziyang chuckled.
After she disappeared, Zhu Ziyang returned to the dorm entrance.
"Teacher," he said respectfully to Mu En.
"Hehe… That little girlfriend of yours seems to have found quite a fortunate encounter," Mu En said with a warm smile.
"You're right, Teacher," Zhu Ziyang said excitedly. "We found a Moonlight Spirit Crystal! After she absorbed it, Nannan reached level 30!"
"I see." Mu En's ancient eyes showed a flicker of amazement. "What a lucky child. Are you planning to help her hunt her third soul ring?"
"Yes, sir," Zhu Ziyang replied. "I've chosen a soul beast called the Silver Moon Armored Beast for her. Have you heard of it?"
"Silver Moon Armored Beast?" Mu En thought for a moment. "Not an easy one to find. They only live in the Mingdou Mountains of the Sun and Moon Empire. You must really care for that girl."
"Hehe," Zhu Ziyang smiled without saying more.
"All right. This afternoon, wait by Sea God Lake. There's an old friend who wants to stretch her legs. I'll have her take you," Mu En said with a grin, recalling something Yan Shaozhe had told him.
"Yes, Teacher!" Zhu Ziyang was overjoyed and quickly agreed.
"Go rest," Mu En said.
"Good night, Teacher!" Zhu Ziyang returned to his dorm in high spirits.