Escape

After absorbing a Soul Ring, even though it was a high Year Limit Soul Ring of five hundred years, Zhu Zhuqing's displayed Soul Power remained at Level 11.

Utterly ordinary!

But the reality was...

To give everyone a better viewing experience, a stat sheet was hereby established.

Zhu Zhuqing, age eight. Innate Soul Power: Level 9. Current Soul Power Level: Level 19. Physique: 21.

Martial Souls: Nether Shadow Spirit Cat, Holy Light White Tiger!

Hell Spirit Cat First Soul Ring: Yellow (500 years)!

Soul Skill: Nether Shadow Stab!

Effect: An upgraded version of Hell Stab. Its boost triples in shadows and comes with a stealth effect!

"Although my Soul Power is only Level 19, it's enough for me to travel across the continent!"

Night fell!

Zhu Zhuqing stood on the roof of her small courtyard, gazing at the radiant moon as she muttered to herself.

At eight years old, Zhu Zhuqing was already 1.5 meters tall. Her excellent genes had given her a body that looked mature for her age.

She touched the Storage Bag at her waist. She had prepared everything she needed, especially Soul Coins. She had brought nearly all her savings with her.

Not much—just over a hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins!

It wasn't that she was in a hurry to leave. It was just that she had no choice but to leave!

Life was hard. This kitty could only sigh!

It was simply impossible to have a good cultivation environment in the Star Luo Empire!

Her relationship with Eldest Sister was fairly good, wasn't it?

If she revealed her talent, she would probably be assigned to someone!

And it would be that scumbag!

Ugh!

She would rather die than agree to that!

Even if she wasn't assigned to anyone, they would probably make this plan and that plan for her.

She couldn't stand that!

So after thinking it over for a long time, she decided it would be best to run away from home!

Only by leaving this cage could she unleash her talent without restraint.

There was still so much of her potential left untapped!

And so, on this moonlit night with few stars, a tiny figure slipped out of Duke Nether's Mansion using the stealth ability of her mutated Hell Spirit Cat.

The strongest person in all of Duke Nether's Mansion was only the Grand Duke. With Soul Power at Level 87, he could not sense the entire mansion.

Thus, the first step of Zhu Zhuqing's plan to run away from home was completed perfectly!

Under the cover of night, Zhu Zhuqing flitted through the shadows like a spirit of the darkness.

In her Nether State, Zhu Zhuqing seemed capable of diving into shadows, constantly moving from one shadow to another.

Her specialty was silent, traceless infiltration!

As a major city, Star Luo Imperial City naturally did not close its gates.

The Star Luo Empire had no shortage of tracking-type Soul Masters, but Zhu Zhuqing in stealth left almost no trace in reality.

Still, just to be safe, Zhu Zhuqing used the Stealth Method to sneak out all the way until she left the city.

She did not dare appear in reality for even a second!

The stealth skill was practically divine.

It allowed Zhu Zhuqing to completely merge into the shadows and move freely through them.

If nothing else, her ability to escape was absolutely first-rate!

Zhu Zhuqing did not dare leave her stealth state even after traveling far from Star Luo Imperial City.

It was not until dawn was about to break that Zhu Zhuqing finally arrived beside a small river.

The moment she saw the river, Zhu Zhuqing's face lit up with delight.

Flowing water could carry away every trace of scent.

Although the original story had said that Zhu Zhuqing feared water.

What did Zhu Zhuqing being afraid of water have to do with her?

Back then, she had even won the kindergarten swimming championship!

Without another word, Zhu Zhuqing plunged into the water with a splash.

And then, her trail vanished completely!

Because Zhu Zhuqing was always so diligent every day, the servant girls would time their visits precisely to attend to her food, clothing, lodging, and travel.

But today, they knocked for quite a while without hearing any response from Zhu Zhuqing inside.

Almost instantly, they realized something was wrong!

Led by a senior maid, they pushed open the door without regard for etiquette.

But aside from an empty room, where was Zhu Zhuqing to be seen?

The air fell silent for two seconds!

"Ah!

Third Miss is gone!"

The piercing cry echoed throughout Duke Nether's Mansion.

Three hours later!

Smack!

Duke Nether slammed a hand onto the armrest of his chair.

The gloom on his face was nearly tangible.

"It's been three hours, and there's still not the slightest trace of her. Are you all good for nothing?"

Duke Nether roared at the servants kneeling below.

Zhu Zhuqing's room had been cleared out completely, and she herself had vanished without a trace!

Other than running away from home, there was only one other possibility.

Zhu Zhuqing had been kidnapped!

And whoever had kidnapped her was probably no ordinary kidnapper!

Would an ordinary kidnapping require them to strip the entire room bare?

As for running away from home?

What a joke?

Wasn't Zhu Zhuqing living well enough in Duke Nether's Mansion now?

She no longer had to worry about her life being in danger, and she was served good food and drink every day.

Other than diligently improving her cultivation and becoming part of the Netherworld Family's foundation, there were no downsides at all.

They could not think of any reason Zhu Zhuqing would run away from home!

"Father, do you think Third Sister might have gone to find the Fourth Prince?"

Zhu Zhuyu asked Duke Nether softly.

News of Dai Mubai's escape from the Star Luo Empire had only just spread when Zhu Zhuqing disappeared.

It was easy to suspect that Zhu Zhuqing had left to chase after Dai Mubai.

"Impossible. Zhuqing has never even met the Fourth Prince.

Besides, what reason would she have to look for Dai Mubai?"

Duke Nether immediately rejected the possibility.

At the same time, he looked toward the expressionless Zhu Zhuqian. No matter why Zhu Zhuqing had left Duke Nether's Mansion, it absolutely could not have been to chase after Dai Mubai!

"Then what do you think we should do, Father?"

A glimmer of light flashed in Zhu Zhuyu's eyes, but she quickly concealed it.

Running away from home... Why hadn't she thought of that back then?

Damn it, with Third Sister gone, the manor's security would definitely become even tighter!

Would she still have a chance to escape?

"This matter must not be made public. Keep searching. If there is still no news of Miss by the end of today, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Hearing that they still had a chance to make up for their failures, the servants below hurriedly nodded, promising that they would definitely find Zhu Zhuqing's trail before the day was over.

But...

Could they really find her?

It was not as though Zhu Zhuqing had not considered what would happen to those servants after she left.

But compared to her own gains and losses, those servants would at most be scolded, and the duke's mansion would tighten its security.

Just as Zhu Zhuqing had expected, Duke Nether's Mansion did not announce her disappearance publicly.

Instead, they secretly sent more people to search for her.

But since Zhu Zhuqing had prepared in advance, she naturally would not let them discover her.

After three days of searching, Zhu Zhuqing could clearly feel that the search effort had suddenly weakened.

They had probably truly given up on her.

She was only a daughter with Level Five Innate Soul Power. At worst, they would miss out on one talented young prospect. Duke Nether's Mansion could afford that loss.

If they kept searching, it would be Duke Nether's reputation that suffered.

So after three fruitless days of searching, Duke Nether's Mansion had no choice but to withdraw most of the search party!

The daughters of the Netherworld Zhu Family were often used as bargaining chips to win over Star Luo's geniuses.

Geniuses were rare, but what if one appeared?

Zhu Zhuqing did not want to be chosen by accident.

That was one of the reasons she had fled the Star Luo Empire.

Zhu Zhuqing did not know what had become of Duke Nether's Mansion, nor did she want to know!

As far as she was concerned, all that mattered was escaping that loveless place!

Now the sky was wide enough for her to soar, and the sea vast enough for her to leap!