Inside a hotel in Star Luo Empire
*swoosh*
The air in the lavish hotel suite rippled with a soft, golden glow, and warm sunlight spilled across a thick Star Luo carpet.
Xuan Yan stood in the centre of the room with Zhu Zhuqing still cradled in his arms.
He glanced down at her and smiled, "See?"
Zhu Zhuqing's dizziness cleared and her dark eyes widened as she looked at the luxurious suite.
"Y-Yan… we… how…?" she finally stammered.
He shrugged casually, "Spatial teleportation. I can go anywhere I've been before. Convenient, isn't it?"
She stared at him, stunned into silence for several long seconds.
Then understanding dawned. "No wonder Spirit Hall keeps proclaiming their Holy Son is a monster among geniuses…" she murmured, cheeks tinting pink.
Xuan Yan chuckled and carried her the last few steps to the plush sofa. He set her down gently, then sat beside her, one arm sliding naturally around her waist.
'Sister Tao.'
A breathtaking woman with flowing crimson hair and glowing ruby eyes materialised in a blur of red and gold.
Without hesitation she sank to one knee before him"Brother Lord,"
Xuan Yan sighed and replied "Sister Tao, how many times have I told you not to kneel?"
She didn't lift her head "You are my lord. Respect is only proper."
Zhu Zhuqing's eyes darted between them in shock. A high-ranking subordinate of Spirit Hall? And she calls him… lord?
Xuan Yan gave up with a small, fond shake of his head.
He took a glossy black card from his storage ring and held it out "Sister Tao, could you go buy some undergarments and clothes for Zhuqing? Something comfortable and beautiful."
Ma Xiaotao finally raised her gaze, glancing briefly at Zhu Zhuqing.
The girl instantly flushed crimson and looked down at her lap, fingers twisting in the hem of her borrowed robe.
"Yes, lord," Ma Xiaotao replied without a single question. The air rippled once more, and she vanished as swiftly as she had appeared.
Zhu Zhuqing sat frozen, mouth slightly open.
Meanwhile, Xuan Yan heard another woman's voice inside his head 'Lord… why did you send Tao? I'm stronger than her. Why not give the task to me?'
Xuan Yan's lips twitched 'Are you jealous again?'
'I-I'm not jealous!' the voice protested, then immediately softened. '…I just thought maybe Lord forgot about me…'
'How could I ever forget you? I love you both, you know that.'
A shy, delighted giggle echoed in his sea of consciousness 'Hehe~'
...
In a grand chamber deep within the Zhu Clan's estate, Zhu Zhuyun sat upon a chair carved with intricate patterns of prowling spirit tigers.
A black-cloaked figure knelt before her, head bowed low, body trembling like a leaf in the wind.
"So, what happened?" Zhu Zhuyun's voice cut through the silence.
The cloaked man swallowed hard, his voice quivering. "T-The second young lady escaped into the forest."
Her eyes narrowed to dangerous slits, golden flecks of spirit power glinting in their depths. "You let her escape?"
"P-Please forgive us!" he begged, pressing his forehead harder against the floor, shoulders shaking violently.
After a tense pause, she spoke in that same frigid tone "Leave."
The man nodded frantically, scrambling to his feet without daring to look up.
He bowed once more before bolting from the room.
The moment he was gone, the cold stare on Zhu Zhuyan's face crumbled.
Her shoulders sagged. "Little sister…"
She rose abruptly and walked to the tall window overlooking the Zhu Clan's inner courtyard.
Dawn painted the training grounds in pale gold, but she saw none of it.
Her reflection stared back, same cat-like eyes as Zhuqing, same midnight hair, only hers were rimmed red now.
A single tear slid down her cheek, catching on the edge of her lip before falling.
"I was so close," she whispered to the empty room.
"Another week, and the poison would have been ready... slow enough to fool the elders, convincing enough to stage your death. You would have woken up on a ship bound for the far south, free of the clan, free of Dai Mubai, free of all of this…"
Her fingers curled against the cold glass until the knuckles went white.
"I never wanted you to run alone into that forest. I never wanted you hurt."Zhu Zhuyun pressed her forehead to the windowpane and closed her eyes.
"Where are you, Zhuqing?"
"Please… just be safe."
...
The luxurious suite was quiet except for the soft rustle of silk as Xuan Yan leaned back against the sofa, one arm still draped around Zhu Zhuqing's shoulders.
"We'll head to the Zhu Clan tomorrow," he said casually, as though discussing the weather. "Cancel the marriage contract. Simple."
Zhu Zhuqing was startled and looked at him in surprise "Tomorrow? Yan, you can't be serious. Are you… are you planning to bring Spirit Hall's forces? Elders? Titled Douluo?"
Xuan Yan's lips curved into a lazy grin "Why would I need reinforcements?"
He tilted his head. "I'm more than enough on my own."
She stared at him with her mouth slightly open. "On your own? My father is a level 82 Spirit Douluo! There are three Titled Douluo elders in the clan, plus—"
He lifted one finger and gently pressed it to her lips, cutting her off.
Her words died instantly. Those beautiful black eyes, shimmering with worry, looked into his golden eyes.
"Do you remember what level I told you I was?" he asked softly.
Zhu Zhuqing blinked, confusion flickering across her face. "You… you said level 86. But that was just a joke, right? To tease me?"
Xuan Yan's smile widened. He rose from the sofa and stepped in front of her.
"No joke."
He spread his arms slightly, and the air in the room changed.
A ripple of void tore open before him like a wound in space itself.
From the darkness a pitch black blade threaded with crimson runes came out, its hilt a gleaming gold laced with violet lines that pulsed like living veins.
Zhu Zhuqing's breath caught in her throat. 'W-What is this powerful martial spirit? His martial spirit is a sword?'
Then the spirit rings rose.
One after another, they materialized around him in a cascade of crimson and gold light that bathed the room blood-red.
Black → black-red → red → red → red → deep crimson → red-gold → and finally, a ring of pure, radiant gold that hurt to look at directly.
Eight rings.
Five of them red. One red-gold. One… gold.
Zhu Zhuqing's mind went blank.
Red rings were the stuff of legend... 100,000-year beasts.
Only one or two of Spirit Hall's supreme elders were rumored to possess even a single one.
Yet here stood a fourteen-year-old boy with five. And that final golden ring… a million-year ring? Something beyond red?
'There is gold after red? Where did he even get them?'
"W-What the... heck?"
Her heart thundered in her chest.
'I-Is he really human?'
Then she remembered what Spirit hall proclaimed years ago and the rumors.
'The Holy Son of Spirit Hall is the monstrous genius of this era. No one on the mainland is comparable to the Holy Son in talent, looks and power.'
'S-So... the rumors are all real?'
Zhu Zhuqing's hands rose unconsciously to cover her racing heart.
She looked up at his smiling face 'S-Such a guy... is my lover.'
A hint of pride flashed in her eyes and her words stuttered "I-I can't believe this..."
Her gaze lowered and a sense of inferiority complex rose in her heart 'But I'm only level 25. Just another noble daughter with a decent martial spirit. I'm… nothing compared to him.'
The gap between them suddenly felt like Heaven and Hell.
Xuan Yan sat back onto the sofa beside her, close enough that their thighs brushed.
Gently he hooked a finger beneath her chin and tilted her face up.
"So," he asked in a warm tone "what do you think?"
Zhu Zhuqing tried to answer "I-I don't… know," she whispered, eyes flickering with sudden doubt.
"I'm just… me. Level 25. The Zhu Clan's spare tool. You're…"
She gestured helplessly at the place where those impossible rings had floated moments ago. "You're you."
A tremor entered her voice. "Do I… even deserve to stand beside someone like you?"
Xuan Yan's expression softened until it almost hurt to look at.
He cupped her cheek with one hand, thumb brushing the corner of her trembling mouth.
"Qing'er," he said quietly, "listen to me."
She tried to look away, but he wouldn't let her.
"I have eight spirit rings that scare Titled Douluo. I can step across the continent in a heartbeat. I could probably level the Zhu Clan before breakfast if I felt like it."
"But none of that means anything if the girl I love thinks she's not enough."
Zhu Zhuqing's breath hitched.
He leaned closer, forehead resting lightly against hers.
"I didn't fall for your spirit rank. I fell for the girl who dragged herself through a forest bleeding from lash wounds and still glared at me like she'd fight the world if I gave her a reason. The girl who kissed me this morning like I was the only thing keeping her breathing."
His voice dropped to a whisper "You're already more than enough."
A tear slipped free before she could stop it. He caught it with his thumb.
"So stop measuring yourself against my rings," he murmured. "Measure yourself against my heart. And trust me... there's no contest. You win. Every single time."
Zhu Zhuqing's lips trembled, and she launched herself into his arms, burying her face against his neck.
Xuan Yan held her tightly, one hand stroking her hair, the other wrapped securely around her waist as if he could shield her from every doubt the world had ever planted in her.
He didn't lie. Zhuqing is one of the characters he loved the most in the original story.