SWNOVELXO Chapter 125: Chapter 125 – On Faith!
Just as Qian Lingyi was about to keep speaking, she noticed her grandmother, Qian Zhiya, returning—dragging behind her the carcass of the Saberfang Shadow Wolf.
"Grandma!"
She immediately ran over, greeting her sweetly.
"Hehe~ Let's go, Yiyi," Qian Zhiya said with a cheerful smile. She gave a polite nod to Zhu Changhe and the others, then took her granddaughter by the hand and left the canyon without another word.
Not long after, Hong Zhen also returned, dragging the broken body of the Thornspine Razorhog behind him.
The battlefield was a mess. Scattered corpses of wolves littered the ground, alongside the cracked and broken terrain left behind by devastating soul skills.
"Brother Changhe, mission accomplished!"
Hong Zhen dropped the near-dead Razorhog onto the ground. Its body was limp, almost like jelly—its bones shattered, barely clinging to life.
"Thank you, Brother Hong!"
Zhu Changhe beamed with excitement and gratitude.
"Ah, come on! No need to thank me," Hong Zhen waved it off. "Let's head somewhere more private so you can finish it off. The blood here might attract other soul beasts."
Without delay, the group left the canyon and entered a secluded stone forest.
"Here's good," said Hong Zhen, surveying the surroundings.
"Perfect," Zhu Changhe replied, unable to contain his excitement. He summoned his martial soul and swiftly ended the Razorhog's suffering, then began absorbing its soul ring.
While Zhu Changhe entered a deep meditative state, Zhu Ziyang, Jiang Nannan, and Hong Zhen stood in a triangle around him, silently guarding him.
An hour later, Zhu Changhe successfully absorbed the 4,000-year soul ring, breaking through to Rank 43.
His expression was one of pure joy—not just for reaching the Soul Ancestor level, but also for once again surpassing his own son in soul power. For any man, being overtaken by your child is bittersweet. The pride is real—but so is the sting.
With the task complete, the group returned directly to Anyang City.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Tianhui Grand Canyon...
Qian Zhiya and Qian Lingyi were preparing to leave as well.
"Grandma," Lingyi asked suddenly, full of curiosity, "those two kids we met earlier—around my age—how strong were they?"
Now that she had successfully absorbed the 3,000-year Saberfang Shadow Wolf ring, her confidence was sky-high. Her mind naturally returned to Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan.
"The girl was around Rank 35. As for the boy…"
Qian Zhiya's expression turned complicated.
"I couldn't see through him."
"What?!"
Qian Lingyi's eyes widened in shock. "Even you couldn't read his level?! There's no way he's already a Soul Ancestor, right? He's about my age!"
"Douluo Continent has billions of people. A few peerless prodigies are bound to appear," Qian Zhiya said solemnly. "Yiyi, you must not become arrogant. Even if you're the most talented in our Qian clan, we're not what we once were. Our days of papal glory are long gone."
"Grandma… are we really descendants of the Papal Clan?"
Qian Lingyi asked—again. It was the thousandth time she'd asked, and she already knew the answer. But every time, she asked just to see the pride on her grandmother's face.
"Of course. Our Angel Martial Soul is proof," Qian Zhiya said, once more launching into the tale of their ancestral line, her weathered face glowing with emotion.
After hearing it once again, Qian Lingyi's eyes shone with determination.
"Grandma, I want to see the world."
Qian Zhiya was silent for a long while before finally responding:
"Very well. Once you reach Soul Ancestor, I'll allow you to travel. But at that time, you'll need to change your surname."
"Change it? What will I be called then?"
"You'll take your father's name: Ye."
Back in Anyang City, Zhu Ziyang and his companions returned safely.
That night, inside his room, Zhu Ziyang sat cross-legged on the bed, immersed in his spiritual sea, chatting with Electrolux about a rather unique topic—
Faith.
"Teacher, do you know anything about faith?"
Zhu Ziyang asked with curiosity.
"It's hard to say," Electrolux replied thoughtfully. "Your world and mine are very different, after all."
"Still, could you tell me about your world's understanding? Maybe they're not so different."
"…Very well."
Electrolux agreed, sensing his student's genuine curiosity.
"Faith is closely tied to divine authority. In my world, there were two kinds of gods: Rule Gods and Faith Gods.
"Rule Gods are easy to understand—Gods of Light, Ice, Fire, etc. They draw their divine power directly from elemental laws and have no limits on their growth.
"Faith Gods, on the other hand, are more complex. Their power is born from mortal belief in abstract concepts—like the ocean, the sky, the earth, the sun, and so on. The more believers they have, the stronger they become. But this power also binds them.
"The Sea God and Angel God in your world clearly belong to this category. Their battle over faith energy fits the classic behavior of Faith Gods perfectly."
"As for my world's gods…" Electrolux sighed.
"They were eventually destroyed because faith faded away. No one believed anymore—so the gods died out."
"…That's wild."
Zhu Ziyang's mind reeled. The concept was hard to grasp, but he felt an exhilarating rush of understanding.
His worldview was expanding—and it felt amazing.
"So," Electrolux concluded, "if you ever have the chance, Ziyang, become a Rule God, not a Faith God."
"Pfft… Teacher, isn't that dream a bit too big?"
Zhu Ziyang chuckled bitterly. "I'm just a little Soul Ancestor. I've still got a long way to go before even dreaming of becoming a Title Douluo, let alone a god."
"Haha! No harm in aiming high," Electrolux said warmly. "Besides… you've been slacking off on your necromancy practice this past month."
"R-really?"
Zhu Ziyang laughed awkwardly. "Then I'd better get back to it. Goodnight, Teacher."
With that, he exited the mental space and dove into cultivation.
In the final ten days of his vacation, Zhu Ziyang spent every moment with his parents. He also left behind some valuable cultivation resources—a special type of pill known as the Great Yuan-Gathering Pill.
As its name suggested, it was a stronger version of the standard Yuan-Gathering Pill, made with one additional herb: Starpulse Grass.
The effect was similar, but unlike its predecessor, the Great Yuan-Gathering Pill was effective even for Soul Emperors and below. It was a true mid-grade medicinal pill.
Zhu Ziyang had managed to refine thirteen of them and gave them all to Zhu Changhe and Liang Ying.
As for himself, he no longer used pills during cultivation.
Both Mu En and Electrolux had warned him: overreliance on pills wastes one's talent. A genius like him should rely on pure training. Pills would disrupt the natural balance of his meridians and create long-term dependence.
He understood and stopped immediately. He even forbade Jiang Nannan from using them.
However, his parents weren't bound by such restrictions. Their aptitude was average, and for them, pills only offered benefits—no risk of dependency.
On the final day of vacation, Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan stood at the entrance of Beihe Village, saying goodbye to their parents.
"Dad, Mom, take care. We're heading out now," Ziyang said, waving.
"Mom, don't forget to look after yourself!"
Jiang Nannan added tearfully, turning to her mother.
Before long, the two had disappeared down the road.
And soon after—on the main highway—they spotted two familiar figures waiting ahead.
Xian Lin'er and Cai Mei'er.
"Junior Brother! Junior Sister!"
Xian Lin'er called out cheerfully.
"Senior Sister! Senior Teacher!"
Zhu Ziyang replied, trying to keep his cool—but he couldn't help the flicker of pride in his heart.
Two Super Douluo had come in person to escort them back.
No one else in Shrek Academy enjoyed that kind of treatment.