A prince who has lost all support and voluntarily withdrawn from the game no longer poses any threat.
What the imperial family needs is stability. It is not worth risking a conflict between the two Empires to assassinate a useless person.
But all this hinges on one condition: her younger sister, Zhu Zhuqing, must not join forces with him.
Once the Nether Spirit Cat meets the Evil-Eyed White Tiger, the variable of a Spirit Fusion Skill would be enough to give the discarded piece, Dai Mubai, the qualification to return to the game board.
This is something that Dai Weis, and his supporters behind him, absolutely cannot allow to happen.
Therefore, the purpose of this pursuit from the very beginning was not to take Zhu Zhuqing's life, but to prevent her from going to Suoto City in the Kingdom of Balak.
It seems now that her younger sister has completely abandoned that foolish idea.
She has changed her mind.
When did this change begin?
Zhu Zhuyun carefully recalled.
Probably, it started from yesterday.
Starting yesterday, her younger sister's spirit power fluctuations seemed to have improved somewhat.
Although she tried her best to conceal it, that sense of ease and control during combat couldn't be faked.
Every attack she had calculated to leave a moderate wound on her sister was, each time, dodged by her in an extremely perilous manner, at most only tearing her clothes.
And the shift in her escape route might have started even earlier.
However, none of that mattered anymore.
What mattered was that as long as her younger sister did not seek out Dai Mubai, that man would never have the chance to stage a comeback.
He would forever remain just a useless prince kept outside the Star Luo Empire, a cautionary tale used to warn all ambitious descendants of the Dai Family.
Then...
A thought, like an electric current, shot through Zhu Zhuyun's entire body, causing her to tremble uncontrollably.
Then, does that mean... I no longer have to fight my own sister to the death?
Does that also mean... Dai Weis doesn't have to personally kill his own younger brother either?
This realization, like a bolt of lightning splitting the Chaos, instantly illuminated Zhu Zhuyun's life, which had been shrouded in the dark clouds of destiny for over a decade!
The iron Law of the Star Luo Empire's imperial family, the bloody Law passed down through generations between the Dai and Zhu families, seemed to show a glimmer of possibility for loosening at this moment!
All along, the two of them as sisters, and Dai Weis and Dai Mubai as brothers, had been tightly bound by this rule.
Either you die, or I perish.
There was no third path.
This was a destiny carved into their bones, a curse they had borne since birth.
Zhu Zhuyun had never imagined that one day, this curse might find a turning point because of a small decision made by her younger sister.
As long as Zhu Zhuqing did not go to Dai Mubai, Dai Mubai would pose no threat.
Was it still necessary for Dai Weis to eliminate a completely harmless opponent?
It was not!
Although Dai Weis was cold and ruthless, he was not a bloodthirsty person.
Everything he did was for that supreme position.
As long as Dai Mubai completely withdrew, he would never go to unnecessary lengths.
And she, Zhu Zhuyun, naturally would no longer have to mercilessly kill her own flesh and blood.
They could survive!
Both of them could survive!
This discovery made Zhu Zhuyun's heart pound wildly. An unprecedented surge of joy and excitement assaulted her reason.
She even had an impulse to immediately chase after her sister and tell her this good news.
But she forcefully suppressed it.
No.
The act still had to go on.
Before completely shaking off the surveillance of the imperial family, they, as sisters, were still enemies.
She took a deep breath, suppressing the surging emotions, raised her spirit power again, increased her speed a bit more, and let out an icy shout.
"Zhuqing, stop this futile struggle!"
Her voice pierced through the forest, as cold and emotionless as ever.
Only she herself knew how fervent and burning her heart was at this moment.
Looking at that agile figure ahead, even more vivid under the moonlight, a trace of tenderness flickered in her eyes, unnoticed even by herself.
Little sister, what exactly have you encountered?
What has given you such a tremendous change?
However, no matter what, thank you.
Thank you for giving all of us a future where we don't have to shed each other's blood.
...
But the next words from her younger sister, Zhu Zhuqing, caused Zhu Zhuyun's blood to almost freeze solid in that instant.
What did her sister just say?
Lead the Zhu Family to break free from fate?
This was madness!
Zhu Zhuqing looked at the turbulent emotions in her sister's eyes—shock, doubt, but more than that, a desire suppressed for over a decade, nearly extinguished.
She knew she had gambled correctly.
"Sister, are you truly content?"
Her voice was not loud, but it was like a stone thrown into a stagnant pond, stirring ripples upon ripples.
"Why must we, daughters of the Zhu Family, be born as sacrifices to the Dai Family's imperial power? Why must sisters fight to the death just to earn a chance at a meager survival?"
"I refuse to accept this fate!"
Zhu Zhuqing spoke each word with force and clarity.
Her usually cool and detached face was now burning with an unprecedented flame.
Zhu Zhuyun's body trembled violently.
These were words she had only dared whisper to herself in the depths of midnight dreams over the past decade.
They were the most venomous curses hidden deep within her heart every time she struck to force her sister back.
But now, these treasonous words were spoken aloud by her younger sister.
"You..." Zhu Zhuyun's reason and instinct clashed fiercely. The ignited desire was ultimately suppressed by an even stronger fear.
She took a sudden step forward, lowered her voice, and practically hissed through clenched teeth: "Shut up! Do you want to die?"
Her sharp gaze swept over the surrounding dark woods. Her intuition, honed from years of walking the line between life and death, made her feel an icy sensation of being watched.
Their every move, every word, was under someone else's surveillance!
The cruelty of the Star Luo Empire's imperial family far exceeded outsiders' imagination.
However, Zhu Zhuqing just looked at her quietly. Those clear eyes held no fear, only a calmness bordering on pity.
"Sister, don't you understand yet?"
"As long as we remain on this continent, as long as we still abide by the rules of Spirit Masters, we will forever be birds in a cage, never able to break free."
"So, what I intend to do is overturn this table, shatter this cage!"
...
Deep within the dense forest, a hundred meters away.
Three shadows, melded with the night, lurked like ghosts amidst the thick tree canopies.
Their auras and spirit power fluctuations were perfectly concealed by a special secret technique, as if they were part of the shadows of the trees.
They were the most elite covert agents of the Star Luo Empire's imperial family, the sharpest and most secret blades in Prince Dai Weis's hand.
Their mission was to 'escort' Zhu Zhuyun, ensuring that this pursuit ultimately yielded the result desired by the imperial family.