Electrolux dispersed the horde of undead creatures with a wave, then turned to Zhu Ziyang with a gleam of joy in his eyes.
"Ziyang, starting today, I will begin teaching you my true ultimate art — the Light Undead Arts!"
"Yes, Teacher!" Zhu Ziyang calmed his mind and replied with respectful enthusiasm.
"Before we begin," Electrolux said, "I want to ask you a question. Ziyang, do you believe there's a connection between light and death?"
"Hmm..." Zhu Ziyang pondered deeply. "Normally, one would think they're incompatible or at least completely unrelated. But since you asked, Teacher, I suspect there must be some kind of connection."
"Hahaha, clever little fox!" Electrolux chuckled. "Alright, I won't keep you guessing. Listen carefully."
"You're already quite familiar with light, so I won't dwell on that. Instead, I'll explain the path of death. Based on the undead magic I've mastered, it's the most perfect route I've found to understand death. In my original world, whenever someone mentioned undead magic, their first thoughts were always of evil and sin. But few realize that this magic was originally created to study the essence of life."
"Its first purpose... was healing magic. And this is where the laws of death and light intersect — Life Force!"
"Life Force!" Zhu Ziyang's eyes lit up as if clarity had suddenly pierced through the fog clouding his mind.
"That's right — life force!" Electrolux continued. "Light and death both revolve around life force. Light is the surface, death is the core. Light is the manifestation of life, while death is its conclusion. These two forces are like branches and leaves on the same tree — light is the branch, death is the leaf. Only by tightly grasping life force can the two remain in balance."
"As the saying goes, extreme yin gives birth to yang, and from despair springs hope. Between light and death, there should ideally be another law — the Law of Life — to truly balance the two. But life and death are the truest representation of black and white. Only those with great fortune can comprehend both. For us, it's best to settle for second-best — using our own life force to substitute for the Law of Life."
"However, Ziyang, you're luckier than I ever was. You already possess a natural balancer."
"The Stillness Fate Ending Scythe!" Zhu Ziyang immediately understood what Electrolux meant.
"Hahaha! Worthy of being my successor!" Electrolux laughed heartily. "Now let's talk about the second connection between light and death. The light attribute possesses the power of purification — that much is common knowledge among light-wielders. But death, too, has purifying power. That's the second link between the two."
"Light purifies sin. Death purifies souls. That's the key I've discovered. Light's purification leans toward redemption, with punishment secondary. Death's purification is the opposite — it focuses on punishment, with redemption as a side effect. The two complement one another. Starting from the concept of purification, you'll be able to master the fusion of light and death with ease."
"Mhm! I understand now, Teacher!" After Electrolux's detailed explanation, Zhu Ziyang felt as though a light had pierced through the confusion that had been bothering him for so long. His path forward was now crystal clear.
"Good. In the days ahead, I'll guide you step by step on how to proceed." Electrolux nodded in satisfaction at Zhu Ziyang's performance.
"Yes, Teacher! I'll do my best!" Zhu Ziyang responded with excitement.
—
In the ten or so days since returning from Sunset Forest, Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan hadn't done much cultivation. Instead, they spent time dining and going on outings with their senior brothers and sisters from the Inner Court. It was a rare chance for the Inner Court disciples to all gather together — after all, the annual Sea God Fate Festival would begin soon after the new term started.
But that festival had nothing to do with Zhu Ziyang, at least for now. He wasn't yet sixteen, so he wasn't even allowed to participate in that matchmaking event.
The vacation soon ended. After the Outer Court reopened, Zhu Ziyang's former classmates like Tang Ya and Beibei had already moved up to their third year. Jiang Nannan was preparing to take this year's Inner Court assessment.
Zhu Ziyang was honored to be invited by Zhang Lexuan to attend the assessment.
"Ziyang, are you ready? It's almost time," Zhang Lexuan called outside his wooden cabin.
"Coming, Sister Lexuan," Zhu Ziyang answered, stepping out.
"Since you're ready, let's go." Zhang Lexuan looked at Zhu Ziyang. Her eyes, serene like autumn water, flickered with a hint of gentleness, and her tone unconsciously grew sweeter.
Zhu Ziyang had grown used to it. In the end, it was all because he had gotten too involved in other people's business. A year ago, Zhu Ziyang had used Radiance of Righteous Heart to purge Zhang Lexuan's twisted feelings for Beibei. Everything had returned to normal — she regarded Beibei only as a younger brother and readily accepted Elder Mu's request to dissolve their engagement.
However, something unexpected occurred. Perhaps as a side effect of the Radiance of Righteous Heart, Zhang Lexuan's affection for Zhu Ziyang skyrocketed!
Mu En had actually been delighted by this turn of events. In his words, even if Zhu Ziyang and Zhang Lexuan didn't end up together, it was still good for Lexuan to feel that way — after all, they would both become members of the Sea God Pavilion.
But for Zhu Ziyang, it was a bit of a headache. His romantic entanglements were already enough — with Jiang Nannan as his publicly acknowledged girlfriend, and Ma Xiaotao still entangled with him due to her need for help calming her evil fire... Now there was another — Zhang Lexuan — and worse, she and Jiang Nannan were best friends!
Fortunately, Zhang Lexuan was self-aware. She knew her feelings weren't entirely appropriate. So, aside from expressing them openly when they were alone, she strictly restrained herself in public. Because of that, Zhu Ziyang tried to avoid being alone with her as much as possible.
He still hadn't figured out how to handle all this.
When the two arrived at the combat arena, the Inner Court disciples serving as examiners and the Outer Court students taking the test were already in place. They were only waiting for Zhang Lexuan, the chief examiner, to announce the start of the assessment.
Zhu Ziyang's eyes instantly found Jiang Nannan among the Outer Court students. The girl smiled and waved at him.
"Good luck!" Zhu Ziyang mouthed the words to her. Jiang Nannan replied with a silent, confident smile: "No problem."
How could there be a problem? All the Inner Court examiners were familiar faces to Jiang Nannan. Her assigned examiner was even one of her close Inner Court seniors. With such favorable conditions, it would be harder for her not to pass.
Of course, her success still came from her own strength. At just thirteen, she had already reached the Soul Ancestor rank. Her talent was second only to Zhu Ziyang. If even she couldn't make it into the Inner Court, the other Outer Court candidates would surely protest first.
"Heehee! Brother, I'm an Inner Court disciple now too!" Jiang Nannan bounced over to Zhu Ziyang, beaming with joy.
"Nannan's amazing! Big brother wants a hug!" Zhu Ziyang grinned, teasing her like a child.
"Eww~" Before anyone else could react, Jiang Nannan wrinkled her nose. "Brother, seriously! I'm not a little kid anymore!"
"Hahaha!" Zhu Ziyang burst out laughing. "Yes, yes, our Nannan is a grown young lady now!"
At thirteen, Jiang Nannan really was growing up. Standing a bit over 1.7 meters tall, she was taller than most girls her age — even surpassing many adult women. Her long, slender legs alone were over 1.1 meters. With a curvy figure, silver hair in a high bun, graceful bearing, autumn eyes like shimmering water, and lips like cherry blossoms, she looked like a celestial maiden descended from the moon.
"Hmph, of course!" Jiang Nannan acknowledged proudly. Maybe it was her increasing strength, or her growing circle of friends, but her personality had grown much more cheerful lately. She wasn't the shy, quiet girl she used to be. That was definitely a good thing... but Zhu Ziyang couldn't shake the feeling that she was starting to resemble Tang Ya more and more.
Was it because they spent so much time together? Was Tang Ya's personality rubbing off on her?
Zhu Ziyang thought it might be best to put some distance between the two. If Nannan ever became as hyper and carefree as Tang Ya, he might just cry. Fortunately, Tang Ya was still stuck in the Outer Court. With her current strength, she would need a few more years before qualifying for the Inner Court.
(End of Chapter)
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