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Zhu Zhuqing's heart was a wasteland of sorrow. Despair welled up as she closed her eyes, and an endless tide of grief and unwillingness surged from the depths of her chest.
"I'm sorry, Master… I'm sorry, Oscar. I've let you both down."
She sighed soundlessly in her heart, her thoughts slipping their leash and drifting far away.
Scenes of her time with Lan Minghua, Oscar, and the others flickered past like a lantern show—one image chasing the next.
Under Lan Minghua's careful guidance back then, she had shaken free of her clan's fetters and truly grasped the meaning of life.
Oscar's smile—warm, and always a little cheeky—had a way of appearing whenever she was most exhausted, most lost, bringing her encouragement and support.
Only two or three short years, yet they had given her a respect and care she had never known.
Those were the most beautiful days of her life. No more being treated like a trinket the Zhu Clan could gift away at whim, no more living without dignity.
A pity that now… she was about to die.
Buzz!
The steel needles of the Mother–Child Chasing Soul, Life-Reaping Galls fanned out in a lawless storm, a swarm of death-wasps screaming toward Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing.
Dai Mubai, however, had a life-preserving method from his God of War Trial. At this moment, white radiance surged around him. The needles struck the white light and melted like snow, not leaving so much as a trace.
He glanced at Zhu Zhuqing, privately exultant at his safeguard.
Then he threw his head back and cackled, his laughter tinged with madness, shouting over and over, "Die! Die!"
He had planned to take Zhu Zhuqing alive and humiliate her at leisure. But Heaven had other ideas. With his own life hanging by a thread, keeping himself breathing was all that mattered.
Zhu Zhuqing, though, paid his near-deranged howls no mind.
She had already set life and death aside. The only weight left in her heart was guilt—toward Lan Minghua, toward Oscar.
And at the instant the steel needles were about to pierce her, the Three-Treasure Bead at her throat suddenly burst with blinding gold. In a flash, a faint aureate veil expanded to enfold her whole body.
Thin as it looked, it radiated an impression of unbreakable strength.
Ding ding dang dang!
A chorus of chimes rang at once—the needles struck the golden light and were flung away with ease.
The abrupt reversal stunned Dai Mubai. His eyes went round; disbelief washed across his face.
"How is this possible? What right does that slut Zhu Zhuqing have to such a powerful defensive artifact?!"
Zhu Zhuqing jolted back to herself and realized she was unscathed. Seeing the Three-Treasure Bead floating before her, shedding a soft afterglow, she understood in an instant.
Gratitude for Lan Minghua surged through her; her eyes prickled red. "Master… thank you. I never thought this Three-Treasure Bead would save my life at such a critical moment."
At once, she steeled her resolve. She would not be swayed by emotion again.
Calmed, she launched her attack straight at Dai Mubai.
His pupils shrank; his guts iced over. He bolted in blind panic.
But pressed to his limits and facing a speed-type assault master like Zhu Zhuqing, how could he possibly escape?
Just then—at the very brink—a black shadow ghosted in, seized Dai Mubai with one hand, and swept him away. Even Zhu Zhuqing, at her fastest, could not catch that shadow.
Dai Mubai snapped back to awareness and looked up to see Zhu Yali, his imperial mother.
"Mother?!"
Zhu Yali gave a small nod, relief blooming on her face. "It's a good thing I got you out. If something had happened to you, the Star Luo Empire really would fall into chaos."
Dai Mubai was no longer a fool. He'd put in two hard years of work for this day. Inwardly, he crowed: The Crown Prince's seat is mine!
Watching him recede from her grasp, Zhu Zhuqing was consumed by self-reproach. "It's my fault. Because I hesitated for a heartbeat, I let Dai Mubai get away."
Up above, the Titled Douluo on both sides had read the flow of battle as clearly as a map. Once they saw Dai Mubai had been extracted, both forces quickly disengaged.
In a breath, the sky returned to a face-off—lines redrawn, blades sheathed but ready.
Dai Yutian exhaled when Dai Mubai was brought back alive. He also knew this was not the moment to press the fight and made his decision on the spot. "Retreat! Return to the Star Luo imperial capital at once!"
Silently, he weighed the outcome: I hadn't expected this gain. Mubai is alive—that alone is a boon for the Dai Clan. And if we ally with Spirit Hall and Sea God Island, we can counter this powerful foe, the Heavenly Dragon Empire.
The Titled Douluo of Spirit Hall and Sea God Island had wanted out from the start. Hearing Dai Yutian's command, they wasted no time quitting the field.
The Heavenly Dragon Empire's Titled Douluo meant to pursue, but their leader raised a hand to stop them.
"Boss, why?" someone asked.
The man called Boss was Qianlong—Assassin Ranking, number nine.
In a low voice, he said, "Zhu Zhuqing's condition isn't good, and we're all worn thin from the fighting. If we chase them now, we might blunder into a trap. Let them live for now."
Another voice piped up, worried, "If we give them time to regroup, what if they call for reinforcements from Spirit Hall or Sea God Island?"
Qianlong snorted. "Hmph. I'd be more worried if they didn't. Do you really think we are the only ones who came to the Star Luo Empire?"
At that, understanding dawned on the group. They found a relatively safe spot and began to rest and restore their soul power.
Zhu Zhuqing sat alone off to one side, her eyes hazed and unfocused. No one went to comfort her.
All the Titled Douluo at her side were assassins by trade.
If she couldn't steady herself after a blow like this, she would never be a qualified assassin. She had studied under the Chief Assassin for two years—she, more than anyone, should understand how vital one's mindset was to their path.
The moment she let emotion sway her, she had already made a grievous mistake.
This was something she had to correct on her own.
Meanwhile, among the Star Luo ranks, Dai Yutian looked at the son who had been pulled back from the brink, and his feelings were a tangled knot.
There was a time he had barely spared this third son a glance; his heart wouldn't have stirred even if the boy had died in front of him. Now, though, this son was the lynchpin of the Star Luo imperial line—the key to the Dai Clan's survival.
His face softened into concern. "Mubai, how do you feel? Are your injuries severe?"
A thread of hatred flickered deep in Dai Mubai's eyes. For this father, he felt no warmth at all.
"Hmph. Are you blind? Can't you see my arm has been cut off?"
But his thoughts and his words were not the same. Grinding his teeth, he put on a mask of righteous fury. "Father, I'm fine. I just didn't expect that slut Zhu Zhuqing to have such a formidable defensive soul tool. She slipped the net this time."
Dai Yutian frowned. By rights, Zhu Zhuqing should have stood with Dai Mubai. If Mubai became Crown Prince, she would be Crown Princess—the future Empress. He did not know that the two years Mubai had spent in the Heaven Dou Empire had long since dashed Zhu Zhuqing's hopes to dust.
Puzzled as he was, with Mubai now his only son, he could only play along.
"Rest easy, Mubai. This withdrawal is only temporary. The next time you face her, I believe you will win. But you must seize this time to cultivate and raise your strength quickly. The future of the Star Luo Empire rests on you."
A cold light flashed in Dai Mubai's eyes as he nodded hard. "Rest assured, Father. The next time I meet that whore Zhu Zhuqing, I'll grind her to dust!"
"Good. That resolve is what matters," Dai Yutian said, satisfied. He failed to notice the sliver of viciousness buried deep in Dai Mubai's gaze—a viciousness aimed directly at him.
News of the events in the Star Luo Empire sped to Spirit Hall and Sea God Island.
On Sea God Island, several figures let their auras burst free, no longer held in check.
"Damn the Heavenly Dragon Empire—they dared to kill Brother Sea Spear!"
(End of a chapter)