"This fellow cultivator, this old one is Qian Zhiya. Greetings." The old woman spoke. Naturally, her words were directed at Hong Zhen, since his Soul King cultivation clearly marked him as the leader of the group.
"Hello, senior. I am Hong Zhen, City Lord of Anyang City and a viscount of the Empire." As the saying goes, one does not strike a smiling face. Since the other party was being friendly, Hong Zhen responded courteously.
His response was clever, stating his identity while subtly issuing a warning.
As expected, when the old woman Qian Zhiya heard Hong Zhen's self-introduction, a hint of surprise and caution flickered through her cloudy eyes. Then she smiled and said, "So it's City Lord Hong. This old one has long heard of your name."
That made Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan both chuckle inwardly. A Soul King like Hong Zhen being known far and wide? Clearly just polite flattery, part of the rules of the soul master world.
"Senior flatters me." Hong Zhen played along smoothly, then asked, "May I ask if Senior is also here for these soul beasts?"
"Indeed." Qian Zhiya didn't bother to hide it, replying frankly, "My granddaughter recently broke through to the Soul Elder realm. That 3,000-year-old Saber-Toothed Light Wolf is just right for her."
As she spoke, she cast a proud glance at the golden-haired young girl beside her. Clearly, she was very confident in her granddaughter. Wanting a 3,000-year-old ring for only the third ring? Ordinary soul masters wouldn't dare try.
The girl being singled out was currently staring at Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan. She found it strange that these two peers made her feel a sense of uncertainty, as if their strength was above hers. 'How is that possible?'
When Zhu Ziyang and his companions heard Qian Zhiya's answer, they all breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed they wouldn't need to fight to resolve this encounter. Since their target soul beasts were different, there might even be a chance to cooperate.
"Heh, we're here to help my brother get his fourth ring. We've set our sights on that Thornback Boarhog." Hong Zhen patted Zhu Changhe as he explained with a smile.
Zhu Changhe politely bowed and greeted Qian Zhiya.
"What a coincidence." Upon hearing they were after the Thornback Boarhog, Qian Zhiya let out a breath of relief.
If Zhu Ziyang's group merely hoped to avoid conflict, then she had even more reason to do so. With the other side outnumbering them, avoiding trouble was naturally best.
She smiled and said, "Why don't we join forces and deal with those beasts together?"
"I couldn't ask for more!" Since the other party offered goodwill, Hong Zhen was quick to agree.
"Then, how about the two of us strike now?" Qian Zhiya proposed.
"That suits me just fine!" Hong Zhen nodded.
And so, the two of them moved at once, entering the battlefield between the Saber-Toothed Light Wolves and the Thornback Boarhog.
Zhu Ziyang and the others didn't act immediately, instead observing the battle.
Hong Zhen's martial soul was the Icefield Elephant—Zhu Ziyang had already seen it before. But the martial soul of the old woman Qian Zhiya piqued his curiosity. Behind her rose five soul rings—two yellow, two purple, and one black—stronger than Hong Zhen's three yellow and two purple. A pair of pure white wings sprouted from her back, and her whole body radiated a thick aura of light.
"What martial soul is that?" Zhu Ziyang murmured.
Meanwhile, Qian Zhiya's granddaughter quietly watched them, her gaze filled with guarded curiosity. When she heard Zhu Ziyang's question, her lips curled into a proud and slightly smug smile.
"What's your name?" Zhu Ziyang suddenly turned to her and asked. The girl was startled and flinched.
"Why should I tell you!" she snapped, clearly annoyed. "Shouldn't you state your own name first before asking a lady hers?"
"I'm Zhu Ziyang. What's your name?" he said calmly.
"Hmph! I'm Qian Lingyi!" she declared proudly, raising her chin like a peacock, revealing her smooth, fair neck.
"Your surname is Qian?" Zhu Ziyang's expression shifted subtly. A possibility flashed through his mind, and he cautiously asked, "Is your martial soul an Angel?"
"How did you know?!" Qian Lingyi's eyes widened in disbelief. She stared at Zhu Ziyang. "Do you know someone else with an Angel martial soul?"
Her reaction confirmed it—she had just admitted it.
Zhu Ziyang chuckled and said lightly, "No, you and your grandmother are the only Angel Soul Masters I've ever seen."
"How could that be? If you don't know Angel Soul Masters, how can you recognize the Angel martial soul?" Qian Lingyi couldn't believe him. She was clearly shocked and skeptical.
"Is it that hard?" Zhu Ziyang waved it off casually.
Of course it was. The Angel martial soul was one of the rarest in the continent. Very few had even heard of it, let alone recognized it.
Zhu Ziyang had made an educated guess. Half intuition, half deduction.
Because there once existed an extremely powerful family of Angel martial soul users—the Pope's lineage from Spirit Hall. Every member of this family had Angel martial souls. The Angel martial soul was undeniably top-tier, with multiple variants such as Light Angel, Flame Angel, Ice Angel, Thunder Angel, and even the legendary God-bestowed Six-Winged Angel. The Holy Maiden of Spirit Hall ten thousand years ago, Qian Renxue, possessed that very soul.
But ever since the destruction of Spirit Hall, the Pope's family had nearly been wiped out. Angel martial souls had vanished from the continent.
Now this grandmother and granddaughter pair not only shared the same surname as the Pope's line but also had martial souls matching the descriptions of Angel martial souls in ancient texts. It wasn't hard for Zhu Ziyang to guess their origin—they were likely descendants of that very family.
"Hmph!" Qian Lingyi snorted and said coldly, "So what if you guessed right. Boring!"
"Heh." Zhu Ziyang didn't take it to heart. While Angel martial souls were rare, he didn't consider them especially threatening. He just smiled and turned his attention away from her.
Qian Lingyi noticed that he was ignoring her and felt a bit annoyed. She stepped back and shifted her gaze toward the battle in the canyon.
"Brother Ziyang, are Angel martial souls really that special?" Jiang Nannan leaned in and asked curiously.
"Of course they are!" Zhu Ziyang began to explain, "Do you know about Spirit Hall?"
"Mm-hmm, they ruled the Douluo Continent ten thousand years ago, right? My history teacher mentioned them."
"Correct. The Angel martial soul was the hereditary soul of the Pope's family in Spirit Hall. The Popes throughout the ages all had Angel martial souls. Back in Spirit Hall's prime, the Angel martial soul was regarded as the number one martial soul on the continent."
"Then that means... these two are descendants of the Pope's family?" Jiang Nannan asked in surprise.
"It's very possible." Zhu Ziyang nodded. "Actually, our academy and the Angel clan were once sworn enemies."
"What?!" Jiang Nannan's eyes widened. Even as a student of Shrek Academy, she wasn't familiar with that part of history.
Truthfully, how many people in Shrek Academy still cared about ancient grudges from ten thousand years ago? Aside from a few stubborn traditionalists, most only saw the enmity between the Sea God and Spirit Hall as just a story.
"Ten thousand years ago, Spirit Hall was destroyed by the first generation of the Shrek Seven Devils and the two great empires," Zhu Ziyang explained.
"Why?" Jiang Nannan asked.
"For faith!" The answer came from Qian Lingyi, who had unknowingly approached again. Her delicate face was full of indignation as she said, "The Sea God coveted the Angel God's faith. That's why he ambushed and defeated the Angel God!"
"For faith?" This was the first time Zhu Ziyang had heard that version of the story. He was intrigued and asked, "Can you tell me more?"
"Hmph! You're from Shrek Academy. Why should I tell you?" Qian Lingyi snorted and flatly refused.
"Alright, if you don't want to, that's fine." Zhu Ziyang looked a bit disappointed but didn't press her.
"Sister, I bet even you don't really know the full truth, do you?" Jiang Nannan jumped in, clearly unhappy that Zhu Ziyang was being ignored.
"How could I not?!" Qian Lingyi retorted at once, but her guilty, evasive eyes betrayed her lack of confidence.
Zhu Ziyang immediately understood—this girl really didn't know.
(End of Chapter)
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