"That? Hehe, we'll talk about it tonight." Jiang Nannan kept him in suspense, not immediately telling Zhu Ziyang that their trial was to assist him in completing the God of Death's Seventh Trial. Instead, her gaze fell on Qian Lingyi, who was standing beside them. A flicker of surprise appeared in the girl's eyes as she said, "Brother, aren't you going to introduce us?"
"My name is Qian Lingyi. This should be our second time meeting." Seeing Jiang Nannan's gaze fall on her, Qian Lingyi stepped forward without waiting for Zhu Ziyang to speak and said.
"Qian Lingyi?" Jiang Nannan murmured the name, pondering Qian Lingyi's words in her mind. Soon, the girl remembered and said, "You're that little girl from Tianhui Grand Canyon?"
"Mhm!" Qian Lingyi nodded and said, "I'm not little at all now!"
"How did you end up with my brother?" Jiang Nannan asked, puzzled.
"Yi Yi is now also a student of Shrek Academy. These past few days, she's been traveling with me," Zhu Ziyang said.
"Oh, so you've been traveling together, how nice!" Hearing this, Jiang Nannan immediately looked displeased, pouting as she looked at Zhu Ziyang and said.
"Hehe!" Zhu Ziyang knew he was in the wrong, so he just smiled awkwardly, rubbing his head without speaking.
That evening, Zhu Ziyang followed Jiang Nannan and Zhang Lexuan to the Moon Offering Land.
"Nannan, Sister Lexuan, how many trials have you completed now?" Zhu Ziyang asked, watching the two girls kneel before the Silver Moon Goddess statue, closing their eyes in prayer.
"Five trials, and we're currently undergoing the sixth," Jiang Nannan stood up and replied, "And our sixth trial is related to you, Brother!"
"Related to me?" Zhu Ziyang was stunned. Then, he remembered Jiang Nannan mentioning his seventh trial earlier that day and immediately understood, saying, "Your sixth trial wouldn't happen to be related to my seventh trial, would it?"
"Exactly!" Jiang Nannan nodded and said, "Sister Lexuan and my sixth trial are both to assist you, Brother, in completing the God of Death's Seventh Trial. By the way, what exactly is your seventh trial about, Brother?"
Zhu Ziyang was a bit bewildered at this moment. He had never imagined that the God Position assessment of the goddess of taiyin would be linked to his God of Death God Position assessment. There shouldn't be any connection between these two deities, right?
He really wanted to go to the God Position Inheritance Land to ask Xiao Bai, but now was not a good time. It was better to first exchange their respective gains with Jiang Nannan and Zhang Lexuan. So, he said, "My seventh trial is quite troublesome. It requires us to leave Douluo Continent and go to another continent."
"Go to another continent?" Hearing Zhu Ziyang's words, both Jiang Nannan and Zhang Lexuan showed surprised expressions.
"Yes!" Zhu Ziyang nodded and said, "That continent is located to the east of Douluo Continent, which is why I wanted to go to Donghai City to gather some information. After all, we've never dealt with anything related to the ocean before, let alone sailing to find a new continent!"
"Indeed!" Zhang Lexuan recovered from her surprise, a thoughtful expression on her face, and said, "Going out to sea is an extremely dangerous endeavor with many uncertainties. A slight mistake could mean we might never return to Douluo Continent. Therefore, we must be fully prepared."
"Then what should we do? Go to Donghai City to gather information?" Jiang Nannan asked.
"That's what I'm thinking," Zhu Ziyang nodded and said, "But before that, let's return to the Academy first to tell Elder Xuan and the others, as well as my parents and your mother. After all, this trip will take at least a year. Then, we'll acquire Soul Spirits for both of you, and finally, we'll go to Donghai City."
"Alright!" Zhang Lexuan agreed, "We also need to inform Great-grand-aunt. After all, with us gone, our plans might have to be put on hold for a while."
"Then, let's finalize the plan. We'll return to the Academy tomorrow!" Zhu Ziyang smiled as he settled the plan, then asked, "Oh, by the way, Nannan, Sister Lexuan, how are your trial rewards?"
"Hehe! Of course, they're great!" Jiang Nannan said with a grin, "Brother, look!"
The girl released her spirit rings. The two purple and four black spirit rings surprised Zhu Ziyang. He pointed, astonished, "These are your trial rewards?"
"Yes!" Jiang Nannan nodded and said, "I completed the first five trials, and the age of all my spirit rings increased by five thousand years. I also gained five levels of spirit power. If not for that, how could I have increased my spirit power by eight levels within a year?"
"That's wonderful!" Zhu Ziyang was genuinely envious. They were both God Position inheritors, so why did his trial rewards not include spirit power or spirit ring age bonuses? He then looked at Zhang Lexuan and asked, "Sister Lexuan? Is it the same for you?"
"My rewards are similar to Nannan's, just not as generous," Zhang Lexuan said with a smile.
"I understand!" Zhu Ziyang couldn't help but feel a little helpless, saying, "That's great. This way, once you both acquire Soul Spirits, your strength will receive an even greater boost."
"Brother, I've been wanting to ask, what exactly is this Soul Spirit you keep talking about?" Jiang Nannan asked.
"Here! Look!" Zhu Ziyang called out Snow Empress and showed the two girls the origin and function of a Soul Spirit. The two girls suddenly understood, and then both became full of anticipation.
After their discussion, the three left the Moon Offering Land and returned to the rooms arranged for them by the Marquis's Mansion. Zhu Ziyang's room was to the left of Jiang Nannan's, Qian Lingyi's room was to the right of Zhang Lexuan's, and Jiang Nannan's and Zhang Lexuan's rooms were next to each other. This arrangement was clearly well-considered.
Zhu Ziyang returned to his room, just about to enter the God Position Inheritance Land to ask Xiao Bai about the goddess of taiyin, when he heard a knock at the door. He was startled, then went to open it.
When the door opened, Jiang Nannan appeared outside, clutching a pillow. Seeing Zhu Ziyang open the door, she rushed in without a word.
"Nannan, what are you doing?" Zhu Ziyang asked, very puzzled.
"I've decided, I'm sleeping with you tonight, Brother!" Although Jiang Nannan's pretty face was flushed, her voice was unusually firm as she said.
"Ah?" Zhu Ziyang was stunned, and then his heart began to pound uncontrollably. He said, "Nannan, are you... ready?"
Seeing the expression on Zhu Ziyang's face, Jiang Nannan immediately realized what he was thinking. Her face turned even redder, and she promptly threw the pillow at him. The girl shyly exclaimed, "Oh, Brother! What are you thinking?! I… I just wanted to talk to you, that's all. I wasn't… wasn't thinking of giving myself to you! I'm not even an adult yet!"
"Uh, hehe! I got the wrong idea, I deserve that!" Zhu Ziyang heard this and immediately laughed awkwardly, saying, "Then we'll have a heart-to-heart talk tonight!"
Soon, the two lay down on the bed. The girl hugged Zhu Ziyang's waist, chattering about how much she missed him. Zhu Ziyang listened to the girl's heartfelt words while feeling her wonderful presence.
As the night deepened, a special atmosphere arose between the young man and woman in the room, sharing their innermost feelings. Their tender confessions unconsciously evolved into another, deeper form of intimacy... The next morning, Zhu Ziyang woke up, and the girl's delicate face came into view, the lingering charm in her eyes stirring his heart. Things evolving to this point was indeed something neither he nor Jiang Nannan had expected. Everything felt so natural; the saying 'when love runs deep, one cannot control oneself' probably described their current state.
He moved his arm slightly, and the smooth, warm jade immediately stimulated his senses, forcing him to abandon the idea of relaxing his arm. He could only wait quietly for the girl to wake up.
Fortunately, the girl didn't make him wait too long. Her large, misty yet charming eyes opened, and the first thing she saw was Zhu Ziyang, who was smiling ambiguously. Jiang Nannan immediately recalled everything that had happened last night, shyly burying her head in the quilt and nudging Zhu Ziyang's chest in annoyance.
"Hahaha!" Zhu Ziyang couldn't help but laugh out loud.
The two got up, dressed neatly, and tidied up all the messy traces from yesterday before leaving the room, only to bump directly into Zhang Lexuan.
"You two..." Zhang Lexuan was a bit stunned, not expecting these two to be so affectionate so early in the morning. However, when she saw the lingering charm in Jiang Nannan's eyes, she immediately understood everything. A knowing and teasing smile appeared on her face as she said, "Nannan, did you sleep well last night?"
"Ah! Sister Lexuan!" Jiang Nannan was teased by Zhang Lexuan, stomping her feet in embarrassment. She hugged Zhang Lexuan's arm and whined, "Don't tease me."
"Is our goddess of taiyin shy?" Zhang Lexuan said with a smile.
Soon after, Qian Lingyi also arrived. She looked at Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan with a hint of confusion, feeling that their demeanor had changed overnight, but she couldn't quite pinpoint how. In short, Jiang Nannan looked more beautiful, and Zhu Ziyang seemed more composed.
She wanted to ask Jiang Nannan the reason but couldn't bring herself to. So, she asked Zhu Ziyang instead, but how could Zhu Ziyang tell her the truth? He simply brushed her off with some vague remarks.
Subsequently, the group of four, after informing Old Song, left the Yue Nan Islands, preparing to return to Shrek Academy.