Zhu Zhuqing paused for a moment, thinking carefully. Finally, she nodded.
She no longer wanted to trust her sister, nor did she want to return to the family that had turned into her nightmare.
"Very well," Yuan Longxuan said.
Without hesitation, he moved. In a flash, his sword was drawn.
The sword streaked through the night sky like a shooting star, carrying a cold wind in its wake.
In an instant, it cut through a man's throat. Blood sprayed like a red plum blossom under the moonlight.
Before the second man could react, Yuan Longxuan reversed the sword and drove it straight into his chest.
Both men fell, eyes wide with shock and resignation. Zhu Zhuyun froze, barely daring to breathe.
Two Soul Master guards, defeated so easily! Could it be that…
Yuan Longxuan's sword suddenly pointed toward Zhu Zhuyun's throat. But Zhu Zhuqing, regaining her courage, shouted:
"No!"
At that very moment, a shadowy figure stepped out from the darkness.
It moved like a ghost, claws aimed straight at Yuan Longxuan's neck.
Six soul rings glowed on its back—a clear sign: a Soul Emperor over sixty!
Yuan Longxuan didn't flinch. He stood still, calm.
"Clang!"
Metal rang against metal. The attacker's eyes widened in surprise. But then…
"Puff!"
"Puff!"
The Shuihan Sword swung down in a magnificent arc of ice. It cut deep into the man's neck and chest, exposing bone in some places. Slowly, his broken body froze, turning into a pale aquamarine ice sculpture.
Douluo Continent, Xingluo Empire.
The ancient and magnificent palace stood silently. Its vermilion gates, studded with bronze nails, seemed to breathe history with every gust of wind.
The sweeping eaves and heavy brackets curved upward like hawks poised to strike, while golden glazed tiles shimmered beneath the sun, radiating imperial prestige.
Within the ancestral hall, incense smoke curled toward the heavens.
Countless spirit tablets rested in solemn rows—each one representing the glory of generations past. Suddenly—
Crack!
A single spirit tablet fractured with a sharp, echoing sound.
"Who is it! Who dares to harm the bloodline of our Xingluo Empire?!"
The outraged cry of a guardian elder shook the hall, and the faint flicker of soul power rippled across the ancestral grounds.
(Don't say that a fantasy world like Douluo Continent shouldn't have spirit tablets! If they don't, how else would the family know someone just died outside? Accept my nerd logic and move on, thank you very much.)
---
Forty miles outside Soto City, deep within a shadowy forest, the scene was tense enough to freeze blood.
An icy-blue blade was pressed against the pale, slender throat of Zhu Zhuyun. Her pupils contracted violently; disbelief and fear warred within her eyes.
"You're quite an interesting girl," said the man holding the sword. His tone was flat, calm, without even a ripple of emotion. "A Soul Emperor hidden in the dark to protect you… but unfortunately, he met me."
The man was none other than Yuan Longxuan. His sword hand did not tremble. His eyes, deep and unreadable, fell on the trembling woman before him.
Indeed, he had already sensed the Soul Emperor lurking behind Zhu Zhuyun.
But from the way she stiffened in shock, it was obvious she hadn't even known the man was there.
With her current strength, she couldn't possibly mobilize such an expert.
That left only one possibility—her fiancé, Davis.
Zhu Zhuqing's chest tightened. She forced herself to step forward, voice trembling but steady:
"Senior… could you spare her life? After all… she is my sister."
At that, Yuan Longxuan finally glanced at her. His gaze softened by a fraction.
"Spare her? So she can return, seek reinforcements, and bring disaster down upon you?" His lips curved faintly. "Little girl, I hope you're not that naive."
Zhu Zhuqing bit her lip, fists clenched. She could not answer.
"Plop."
Zhu Zhuyun's knees struck the ground. The ice blade cut a shallow mark across her skin, a thin line of crimson blooming at her throat.
"Please! Please don't kill me, senior! I can give you everything I have!"
Her voice broke, desperation etched across her delicate face. She was still young—too young to accept death in this cold forest.
"Oh?" Yuan Longxuan's eyes flickered with faint amusement. "Everything?"
Perhaps because she was already an adult, Zhu Zhuyun's beauty carried a mature charm her younger sister had yet to possess. Her trembling, her tears, her plea—it was a dangerous kind of temptation.
Inside his mind, the System Store interface quietly appeared:
- [Ordinary (Soul Master) Slave Mark] – Controls all actions of the enslaved. Price: 0. Stock: 99,999+
- [Special (Soul Sage) Slave Mark] – Controls all actions of the enslaved. Price: 0. Stock: 99,999+
- [Super (Title Douluo) Slave Mark] – Controls all actions of the enslaved. Price: 0. Stock: 99,999+
Yuan Longxuan's lips curved faintly.
(Heh. The System really does hand out all sorts of "toys." I'm not a saint, but neither am I some bloodthirsty devil.
Still… if she wants to live, she must be bound. Otherwise, releasing her would be courting disaster.)
His cold gaze bore into Zhu Zhuyun, who forced herself to raise her head. Her dark eyes shone with a desperate, determined light.
"Yes," she whispered. "Everything."
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