What Kind of Monster Has Such a Presence?

Upon entering the main thoroughfare through Suotuo City's south gate, they found shops and taverns packed closely together on both sides, buzzing with voices. The air carried the scorched smell of iron being forged, the aroma of roasting meat, and the mingled Soul Power fluctuations of Soul Masters of all kinds.

The purple-gold Celestial Chasm that had torn open the sky the previous night had undoubtedly given this major city of the Balak Kingdom a powerful jolt.

Everywhere, Soul Masters gathered in groups of three or five on street corners, talking loudly. Quite a few burly men dressed as mercenaries carried freshly scavenged, charred rocks from outside the city, hurrying excitedly toward the rare treasures auction house in the west.

Chu Yuan moved unhurriedly through the bustling crowd, his right arm resting naturally around Keqing's slender, supple waist.

Wherever he and Keqing passed, the noisy, crowded throngs around them unconsciously parted to either side, pushed back by the invisible presence of the Heavenly Principles and leaving a wide passage.

Keqing nestled obediently against Chu Yuan's side, her amethyst eyes calmly surveying both sides of the street. "I can sense a few faint traces of Geo and Anemo to the west and north of the city. They should all be Teyvat relics that fell along with the Celestial Chasm last night."

"Those things aren't going anywhere. Someone will gather them up for us later."

Chu Yuan tapped his fingertips twice against Keqing's smooth waist, making the ears of the beauty in his arms grow warm. Only then did he smile and point to a distinctive three-story building on the corner ahead, decorated from top to bottom in red and white:

"That astrologer's presence is two streets ahead. But before we go see her, let's secure a place to stay at this hotel."

Keqing looked in the direction Chu Yuan was pointing.

A sign carved with an enormous red rose hung above the entrance to the three-story building: Rose Hotel.

The hotel's rather suggestive, romantic decor made the Yuheng's cheeks grow warm. She had only just experienced intimacy and become the woman at Chu Yuan's side, but now her heart and eyes were already full of the man beside her. Naturally, she had no objection. She merely nodded obediently. "Mm, whatever you say."

When the two were still a dozen or so steps from the Rose Hotel's entrance, a slender figure in black suddenly emerged at a brisk pace from a secluded, dim alley to the side, also heading for the hotel's entrance.

It was a girl who looked no more than twelve or thirteen.

She wore a tight black leather outfit that showed off every curve of her shapely figure, which was far more developed than those of her peers and extremely voluptuous.

The full, firm curves of her chest looked ready to burst through the black leather, while her waist was slender enough to nearly encircle with one hand. Below it were long, straight legs, shapely and full of explosive power.

The girl had neat, short black hair, skin as white as snow, and delicate, coldly beautiful features. But her dark eyes held a deathly chill, as if she were indifferent to everything around her.

She was none other than Zhu Zhuqing, the Hell Spirit Cat, who had just broken through the ambush laid by pursuers sent by the Star Luo Empire's first prince, Dai Weisi, and Zhu Zhuyun. She had concealed her tracks all the way to Suotuo City.

Zhu Zhuqing's steps seemed steady, but she was biting hard on her bloodless lower lip, and her right hand, hanging at her side, rested almost imperceptibly beneath her left ribs.

The previous night, in a dense forest on the border of the Balak Kingdom, she had been hunted by the last two Agility Attack System Soul Elders, both above level thirty-five. To shake them off, she had not only overdrawn her Soul Power but also taken a palm strike to her left ribs. Her internal organs still ached faintly.

The terrifying pressure when the sky split apart at midnight had frightened her pursuers away, allowing her to escape by luck. She had hurried all the way to Suotuo City, where Shrek Academy was located, intending to find a hotel first and regulate her breathing to heal.

However, as Zhu Zhuqing stepped onto the stairs in front of the Rose Hotel, she happened to catch sight of Chu Yuan and Keqing beside her, arriving at almost the same time. The girl, usually as cold as frost toward the world around her, abruptly stopped in her tracks.

As an elite Agility Attack System Battle Spirit Master, Zhu Zhuqing was far more sensitive to presences than an ordinary person.

Yet in her perception, the black-haired youth beside her, dressed in a white robe patterned with gold and handsome to an almost otherworldly degree, did not emit the slightest fluctuation of Soul Power belonging to a Soul Master of Douluo Continent.

And yet, standing there, he gave her the suffocating feeling of facing a vast starry sky and a bottomless abyss!

As for the purple-haired girl with twin ponytails in his arms, Zhu Zhuqing could not make out her Soul Power Level either. But the sharp sword intent and the presence of lightning flowing from the purple-gold crystal at her waist made every hair on the level-twenty-seven Soul Grandmaster's body stand on end!

Such a powerful presence... How could people like this appear in a place like Suotuo City?

Deep wariness and astonishment flashed through Zhu Zhuqing's cold, lifeless eyes. She unconsciously moved half a step aside, taking the initiative to put a safe distance between them, and lowered her gaze slightly, not daring to look Chu Yuan in the eye.

Chu Yuan glanced indifferently at the black-clad girl beside him, with her voluptuous figure and slightly disordered presence. A flicker of understanding passed through his eyes.

Zhu Zhuqing of the Star Luo Empire's Hell Spirit Cat Clan?

Judging by the stagnant Soul Power beneath her left ribs and the hidden depletion of her Qi and blood, she had clearly suffered serious internal injuries during her flight.

Chu Yuan said nothing further at the entrance. With his arm around Keqing's slender waist, soft as if boneless, he stepped through the Rose Hotel's doors. Zhu Zhuqing hesitated for a moment, then followed close behind.

As soon as they entered the lobby, a rich fragrance of roses greeted them.

Large swaths of red and white roses decorated the lobby, making it especially lavish and romantic. At that moment, however, an arrogant, frivolous male voice at the front desk shattered the refined atmosphere:

"What? You dare disobey me? I don't care how many rooms your Rose Hotel has left. I'm taking that last top-floor suite today! If you know what's good for you, hand over the key card, or I'll tear down that shabby sign of yours!"

A tall, broad-shouldered, handsome blond youth was leaning against the counter.

He had a pair of peculiar double pupils, and a sinister, arrogant sneer hung on his lips. He held a pair of scantily dressed, heavily made-up twin girls, one in each arm, while one hand freely kneaded one girl's buttock. His manner was thoroughly lecherous and utterly contemptuous of everyone around him.

Behind the counter, the hotel manager and the greeter were drenched in sweat, intimidated by the pressure of a Three-Ring Soul Elder faintly emanating from him. They kept offering ingratiating smiles, yet their faces showed their predicament.

The blond youth was naturally Dai Mubai, a student of Shrek Academy and the third prince of the Star Luo Empire.

Zhu Zhuqing, who had just entered the lobby behind Chu Yuan, immediately fixed her gaze on the back of the blond youth with double pupils.

The man was supposed to be her fiancé, yet there he was in broad daylight, holding two common beauties and seeking pleasure. A flash of intense revulsion and disgust swept through Zhu Zhuqing's once lifeless, icy eyes.

I escaped to Suotuo City after surviving countless brushes with death, burdened by internal injuries and the threat of being eliminated by my clan. And this man, who kept saying he was fleeing the struggle for the throne, is whiling away his days in a place of wine and women?