Douluo Dalu II: The Peerless Tang Sect

Chapter 317 Meeting the Parents?

Zhu Ziyang was surprised; he hadn't expected that Qian Lingyi's family would live in the northern mountains.

After Qian Lingyi led Zhu Ziyang into the Northern Mountains, they easily arrived at a valley in the middle of the Northern Mountains. There was a small village in the valley with less than twenty households, which were all the current members of the Qian family.

The overall strength of these Qian clan members was average. At least according to Qian Lingyi, her grandmother's Soul King level strength would rank her in the top five in the clan. The number one ranked member was the clan leader, who was also her second uncle, Soul Saint Qian Zhenyu.

Qian Lingyi's family structure is very simple. Her father married into the family, so she and her mother share the surname Qian. Speaking of which, her grandfather also married into the family and had three children with her grandmother, Qian Zhiya: two sons and one daughter, the eldest son Qian Zhenhuan, the second son Qian Zhenyu, and the youngest daughter Qian Chenxing.

Qian Chenxing was Qian Lingyi's mother. When Qian Lingyi was three years old, she died while hunting for spirit rings. Also killed in the accident were Qian Lingyi's maternal uncle Qian Zhenhuan, Qian Lingyi's father Ye Tianwei, and Qian Lingyi's grandfather Wang Chunqiu.

Therefore, Qian Lingyi's only living direct relatives are her grandmother, Qian Zhiya, and her second uncle, Qian Zhenyu, and his family of three. As for the other people in the village, although they are all blood relatives, none of them are as close as her grandmother. Because she lost both parents at a young age, Qian Lingyi was raised by her grandmother, Qian Zhiya, and it is normal that she has the closest relationship with her grandmother.

Qian Lingyi's sudden return home, accompanied by a strange young man, sparked a wave of gossip among the villagers who saw her. This was because Qian Lingyi's father had returned home with her mother in the same way. Life in the valley was peaceful and uneventful, so everyone was naturally happy to see a happy event.

"Grandma, I'm back!" Qian Lingyi's face was already flushed from listening to the teasing of the elders in the clan all the way home. When she saw Qian Zhiya, she immediately rushed over with joy and called out sweetly.

"Yiyi, you're back!" Qian Zhiya was naturally overjoyed to see her granddaughter whom she hadn't seen in so long. Holding Qian Lingyi in her arms, she carefully examined her, a look of deep satisfaction spreading across her old face. "Hmm! You've grown taller and more beautiful. Truly a worthy daughter of the Qian family!" she said.

"Hehe! Grandma, what are you doing at home? Where are Jiajia and Peipei?" Qian Lingyi hugged Qian Zhiya, her pretty face full of affection and attachment, and asked.

"They're training, of course. They probably won't be back until evening," Qian Zhiya replied, while carefully observing Qian Lingyi's changes. A hint of surprise appeared on her aged face. "Yiyi, you... I can't see through your strength anymore? You've reached the Soul Emperor realm?"

"Hehe! Not only that!" Qian Lingyi said proudly, "Grandma, I'm already a Soul Saint! My second uncle probably can't beat me now!"

"Why did I hear Xiao Yiyi wanting to hit me as soon as I got back?" A middle-aged man walked in from outside. The man was very handsome and looked somewhat like Qian Lingyi. He was obviously Qian Lingyi's second uncle, Qian Zhenyu. When Qian Zhenyu entered the house, he first saw Zhu Ziyang, and his eyes showed a hint of scrutiny and appraisal. Then he looked at Qian Lingyi, and his face showed doting and joy.

"Second Uncle, you're back!" Qian Lingyi exclaimed happily upon seeing Qian Zhenyu.

"Yiyi, what did you say? Say it again!" Qian Zhiya didn't pay attention to her son's appearance; her attention was entirely focused on what Qian Lingyi had just said.

"Hehe! I'm telling you, I'm a Soul Saint now! My Soul Power has reached level 74!" Qian Lingyi's pretty face showed an even stronger sense of pride as she said in a sweet voice.

"What?" This time, Qian Zhenyu heard this and his face immediately showed a look of astonishment. If he remembered correctly, his niece was only nineteen years old this year. How could she have already reached the Soul Saint realm?

Qian Zhiya was also filled with disbelief, staring blankly at Qian Lingyi. Seeing the expressions on her grandmother's and second uncle's faces, Qian Lingyi smiled gently and immediately released her martial soul and soul rings. Six angel wings flowed with the aura of light, and seven soul rings—two yellow, two purple, two black, and one red—flashed behind the girl.

Whether it was the three pairs of angel wings, the seven spirit rings, or the red 100,000-year spirit ring, they all shocked Qian Zhiya and Qian Zhenyu, leaving the mother and son speechless for a long time.

Looking at her stunned grandmother and uncle, Qian Lingyi felt even more smug. She put away her martial spirit and spirit rings and said, "How about that? I didn't lie to you, did I?"

"Yiyi, your...your martial spirit..." Qian Zhiya's voice trembled slightly as she spoke, "Could it be..."

"Hmm!" Qian Lingyi said, "That's right, it's the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul!"

"This, this... May our ancestors bless us, may the angels bless us, may our ancestors bless us..." The old lady didn't know what to say anymore, and could only keep repeating "May our ancestors bless us" to express her indescribable emotions such as excitement, joy, and shock.

"Yiyi, what have you been through these past few years? Tell me and your grandma in detail!" Qian Zhenyu excitedly sat down next to Qian Lingyi, having already forgotten about asking her about Zhu Ziyang's identity. All he wanted to know now was what kind of extraordinary adventure his niece had encountered.

Qian Lingyi didn't hide or make excuses. On the way back, she had already asked Zhu Ziyang. After obtaining Zhu Ziyang's consent, Qian Lingyi told Qian Zhiya and Qian Zhenyu about her abridged version of the experience in detail.

Upon learning that Qian Lingyi had actually joined Shrek Academy and that the boy she brought back was Zhu Ziyang, Shrek Academy's prized disciple, Qian Zhenyu felt a mix of emotions.

On the one hand, as the patriarch of the Qian clan, he was well aware of the situation in the outside world and had naturally heard of Zhu Ziyang's great name. He regarded this peerless genius who was rumored to have six 100,000-year soul rings as mere boasting. However, after seeing his niece's red seventh soul ring, he realized that he had been too naive and developed a sincere respect and admiration for Zhu Ziyang.

On the other hand, as the patriarch of the Qian clan, he was taught from childhood that Shrek Academy was largely to blame for the Qian clan's current state. Therefore, he felt a strange aversion and disgust towards Shrek Academy, which also diminished his goodwill towards Zhu Ziyang.

"You brat, how could you join Shrek Academy?" Qian Zhiya was very surprised when she learned that Qian Lingyi had joined Shrek Academy. Her aged face showed a reproachful expression as she spoke.

"Grandma, what's wrong with me joining Shrek Academy? I think our clan's actions are too extreme and too sensitive!" Qian Lingyi retorted. "What does the feud between the Sea God and our Qian family have to do with Shrek Academy? Why should we hate Shrek Academy?"

"Because the Sea God Tang San was trained by Shrek Academy!" Qian Zhenyu answered subconsciously, and this answer was clearly his true thoughts.

"So, if that's the case, then Tang San's spirit was awakened with the help of the Spirit Hall? Should we also hate the Spirit Hall?" Qian Lingyi retorted, without any restraint.

"Uh!" Qian Zhenyu and Qian Zhiya were both taken aback by Qian Lingyi's words and were speechless. Zhu Ziyang also glanced at her sideways, wondering how to handle the situation.

"Sigh! Never mind!" Qian Zhiya suddenly sighed and said, "Since what's done is done, there's no point in blaming you anymore. You're all grown up now and can make your own decisions. Do as you please."

"Grandma!" Qian Lingyi was startled by Qian Zhiya's tone of "I'm not going to care about you anymore," and immediately grabbed her arm, pouting, "What are you doing? You're not going to abandon me, are you?"

"Of course not!" Qian Zhiya shook her head with a smile and said, "I just don't want to deal with these unpleasant things anymore. Let's talk about something else."

"Mom!" Qian Zhenyu wanted to say something, but Qian Zhiya interrupted him by raising her hand.

"This must be Zhu Ziyang! What a fine young man!" Qian Zhiya's gaze fell on Zhu Ziyang, her eyes lit up, and she exclaimed sincerely, "Eh? Young man, haven't we met before?"

"Grandma, have you forgotten? When you took me to find the third spirit ring, we met Brother Ziyang in the Tianhui Grand Canyon!" Qian Lingyi said, her pretty face immediately lit up with joy when she heard her grandmother start paying attention to her lover.

"I see! No wonder it looked familiar!" Qian Zhiya exclaimed in realization.

"Grandma, hello, we meet again." Zhu Ziyang said with a smile. "Let me formally introduce myself. My name is Zhu Ziyang, the head of the Tianyuan Pavilion at Shrek Academy."

(End of this chapter)