Just Arriving at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, They Encounter the Clan's Little Princess Leaving Home
Chu Yuan gazed quietly at the black-clad young woman kneeling prostrate at his feet, her posture respectful and devout. A flicker of satisfaction passed through his deep black eyes.
Although Douluo Continent was only an anchor world for him to reshape his authority over Heavenly Principles, taking such a sharp hidden blade into his service would save him considerable trouble in the future, whether he was gathering intelligence across the continent or sweeping away petty scoundrels.
"Very good. Remember what you said tonight."
Chu Yuan stood with his hands behind his back, his majestic, indifferent voice slowly ringing out:
"My name is Chu Yuan. The force you will pledge your loyalty to is called the Heavenly Principles Divine Court. Within the Divine Court, we care nothing for a person's origins in mortal clans, much less this continent's foolish distinctions between noble and lowly Martial Souls. From this day forth, you will be the first Night Scout under my command, charged specifically with gathering intelligence and purging threats in the shadows."
"Heavenly Principles Divine Court..."
Zhu Zhuqing's heart trembled slightly. Merely repeating those words silently seemed to make her feel a brilliant, overwhelming pressure that stood above the two great empires and Spirit Hall.
She lowered her head a little further and answered respectfully, "Your subordinate Zhu Zhuqing respectfully obeys your command, my lord!"
"Rise and release your Martial Soul."
Chu Yuan raised his right hand slightly and said in a calm tone:
"Now that you have joined the Heavenly Principles Divine Court, I shall grant you a wisp of Heavenly Principles lightning-shadow power today and use it to wash away this shackle completely."
Zhu Zhuqing's slender body trembled at his words. Though she did not understand what "Heavenly Principles lightning-shadow power" was, her almost godlike reverence for Chu Yuan and absolute obedience to him left her without a moment's hesitation. She immediately stood as instructed, stepped back twice, and focused on circulating her Soul Power.
Two bright yellow Hundred-Year Soul Rings silently rose from beneath Zhu Zhuqing's slender legs.
Immediately afterward, the phantom of a lithe, long-bodied Hell Spirit Cat, black as ink from head to tail, appeared behind her.
As Martial Soul Possession took effect, Zhu Zhuqing's long black hair stirred without wind. Her cold eyes became vertical, dark green cat pupils, and sharp cat claws an inch long extended from her fingertips, flashing with a chill light.
Chu Yuan's gaze swept over the Hell Spirit Cat phantom behind her.
Under the Crown of Heavenly Principles' law-seeing gaze, the cat Martial Soul was keen and nimble, but a faint flaw that drew upon yin and yang truly did lie hidden deep within its origin. It was precisely the root of the Martial Soul resonance between her and Dai Mubai under the rules of Douluo Continent.
"Disperse the gloom, fuse lightning into shadow."
Chu Yuan slowly raised his right hand and flicked a finger, sending a purple-black divine sigil that fused the extreme speed of violet heaven lightning with the spatial laws of the dark night across the air and into Zhu Zhuqing's brow and the Hell Spirit Cat phantom behind her!
"Ngh...!"
A violent yet pure lightning-shadow body-tempering power swept through every inch of Zhu Zhuqing's bones in an instant!
Had it been an ordinary Soul Grandmaster above level twenty, the cleansing surge of lightning-shadow power containing a trace of divine authority would probably have made them scream in agony and faint the very first instant.
She clenched her teeth and balled her fists, forcing herself not to let out so much as half a whimper of weakness!
Watching from the side, Keqing could not help the flicker of approval in her eyes. "What endurance. Her resolve really is impressive."
In the dark alley, countless fine purple-black arcs of electricity leaped and danced over Zhu Zhuqing's shapely, taut body.
The black cat's body, which had looked somewhat thin and cold before, became more slender and agile. The edge of every strand of shadowy fur was coated in mysterious, noble dark purple lightning patterns.
Those once dark green cat eyes became deep, icy dark purple lightning pupils. Even the ten Nether claws extending from Zhu Zhuqing's hands became wreathed in a silent purple-black lightning-shadow edge that could easily tear through heavy refined-iron armor!
As her Martial Soul Origin underwent a complete transformation and ascension, the Soul Power in Zhu Zhuqing's body, which had only just broken through to level twenty-eight, surged again like a river bursting through a dam. It smashed through the peak of level twenty-eight with unstoppable momentum and carried her straight into the realm of a level twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster!
Only after more than ten breaths did the purple-black lightning arcs surrounding Zhu Zhuqing gradually withdraw into her body.
Zhu Zhuqing slowly opened her eyes, and a flash of electricity vanished from her dark purple vertical pupils.
She looked down at the purple-black shadow claws flickering at her fingertips and felt the lightness of her body, transformed as if she had been reborn.
A mere wisp of power granted with a casual flick of his finger had not only sent her Soul Power soaring to the peak of level twenty-nine in one stroke, but had also transformed the Nether Civet Martial Soul, passed down for hundreds upon thousands of years, into the Hell Thunder Shadow Cat, which combined supreme shadow concealment with explosive lightning power!
As she was now, let alone bothering with some Martial Soul Fusion Skill with Dai Mubai again, she was absolutely confident that once she broke through to level thirty and obtained her Third Soul Ring, she could tear apart Dai Mubai's vaunted White Tiger Protection Barrier head-on with nothing but her own lightning-shadow claws!
"Thank you, my lord, for granting me this art and remaking me!"
Zhu Zhuqing withdrew her Martial Soul and knelt on one knee again. For the first time, her cool voice was tinged with barely concealed excitement and fervent awe.
"This is only the beginning. So long as you carry out your duties conscientiously, even the Titled Douluo of this continent, or its so-called gods, may one day be beneath your notice."
Chu Yuan nodded calmly, then glanced at the five dead operatives lying on the ground. His fingertip moved slightly, and a wisp of searing white elemental cleansing flame drifted down, burning the five charred corpses completely into nothingness.
Keqing, standing nearby, saw that Zhu Zhuqing's black leather combat outfit was torn in several places. Though her wounds had healed, her clothes still left her somewhat exposed, so Keqing took a spare dark black cloak with subtle patterns from her storage space and casually handed it over.
"Now that you are serving our lord, walking the streets in those torn clothes would hardly be proper. Put this cloak on for now, then return to the hotel to change and rest."
"Thank you, Lady Keqing."
Zhu Zhuqing respectfully accepted the cloak with both hands and draped it over her shoulders, concealing her torn leather clothes and shapely, voluptuous figure completely beneath the voluminous black garment. Then she naturally suppressed her presence, stepped back half a pace, and stood quietly in the shadows to the side and behind Chu Yuan's group, instantly settling into her role as Night Scout.
Mona blinked her large eyes and looked at Zhu Zhuqing, whose presence had completely blended into the night, even the sound of her footsteps vanishing entirely. She nodded in satisfaction.
"Not bad! The course of her star of destiny has completely broken away now and become a dark purple, cold star with its sharp edge on full display!"
Chu Yuan chuckled, took Mona's soft little hand, and turned toward the long street beyond the alley, where the lights were growing sparse.
"It's late. Let's return to the hotel and rest. Early tomorrow morning, we'll pay a visit to the Suotuo City Rare Treasures Auction House. As for Shrek Academy, without this Hell Spirit Cat, let's see what tricks that sick cat and Tang San can still pull."
"Yes, my lord."
The night air was slightly cool. Clad in her black cloak, Zhu Zhuqing followed silently three paces behind. She raised her head to look at the tall figure ahead, nestled between two breathtakingly beautiful young women from another world. Not a trace of gloom remained in her icy eyes, only rock-solid loyalty and a sharp edge.