A Miserable Past

Of course, compared to her looks, what drew even more attention was the girl's figure. Her voluptuous body was rather at odds with her age.

Yet in contrast to her fiery figure, the girl possessed a cool, detached aura. Especially those lifeless black eyes, which formed a stark contrast with her originally beautiful face.

However, that icy temperament did not diminish the girl's beauty. Instead, it added a touch of unique charm to her.

For certain perverts with special tastes, in particular, she held a deadly attraction.

As for Li Ang, he did not have any especially unusual preferences. He was simply lustful—the sort who could not walk straight when he saw a pretty girl.

So, the girl before him, whose looks could score at least a nine out of ten, naturally held no small attraction for him as well.

Still, lustful as he was, Li Ang had some bottom lines. In that regard, he was better than a certain toothpick that claimed to be huge. He could not bring himself to make a move on an underage girl.

Thus, although he admired the girl's beauty, Li Ang maintained a perfectly serious expression on the surface as he sat in the shop and waited for her to choose.

A moment later, the girl selected a rather simple, antique-style hairpin. Then, a cool voice sounded by Li Ang's ear.

"Shopkeeper, how much is this hairpin?" the girl asked, her temperament and voice equally cold.

"One Silver Soul Coin." Li Ang quoted a fair price without even raising his head.

Neither the workmanship nor the materials of that hairpin were poor, so one Silver Soul Coin was a reasonable price.

Of course, Li Ang did not care how much the thing could sell for. So long as Zhu Zhuqing took the hairpin, he would have been happy even to give it away for free.

After all, he had come here today to hand out "benefits" to the members of the protagonist group.

Zhu Zhuqing seemed to like the hairpin quite a bit. Seeing that the price was not too expensive, she nodded at Li Ang, placed a Silver Soul Coin on the counter, then took the hairpin and left the shop.

What Zhu Zhuqing did not know was that, almost at the same time, in another shop in Murphy City, a dainty and adorable girl had spent one Gold Soul Coin to buy an exquisitely crafted bracelet.

Of course, that was not the point. The point was that the owner of that shop looked exactly the same as the owner of this one.

That was right. Both shops had been arranged by Li Ang. This time, in order to conveniently hand out "benefits" to the two girls in the protagonist group, Li Ang had put in no small amount of effort.

Fortunately, the final outcome was good. The two girls had each bought their own cheat from Li Ang, the old grandpa who sold cheats.

Having completed his objective, Li Ang was all smiles. The first step had gone smoothly; now he only needed to wait for the plot to unfold.

Naturally, Zhu Zhuqing knew nothing of this. She had merely bought a small accessory on a whim and did not take it to heart.

After resting for a night in Murphy City, Zhu Zhuqing left early the next morning, intending to head for Suotuo City.

Speaking of which, Zhu Zhuqing truly was a rather pitiable girl.

Though she had been born into the Zhu Family, one of Star Luo Empire's great noble houses, her fate had been full of hardship.

When she was very young, she had been betrothed to Dai Mubai, the Third Prince of the Star Luo Empire. Yet the Star Luo Empire's struggle for the imperial succession was extremely brutal.

As chosen candidates for the throne, whether Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing wished it or not, they had to participate in the competition for the throne. If they lost, at best their Soul Power would be crippled and they would be imprisoned for life; at worst, their lives would be in danger.

And in the Star Luo Empire's Throne Seizing Battle, Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing were clearly at a disadvantage. Both in age and talent, they fell somewhat short of their rivals.

That alone should have been enough to leave Zhu Zhuqing in despair. Yet in truth, something even more despairing awaited her.

Believing that he had no chance of victory whatsoever, Zhu Zhuqing's fiancé, Dai Mubai, the Third Prince of the Star Luo Empire, completely broke down. He abandoned his fiancée and ran away!

That was right. This guy fled without the slightest sense of responsibility, running to Suotuo City in the neighboring Heaven Dou Empire. Under the pretense of studying abroad, he joined Shrek Academy.

During his time in Suotuo City, relying on his fairly handsome face and his status as a Soul Master, Dai Mubai lived a very comfortable life, chasing after women all day long.

Although Dai Mubai was still a minor by Earth's standards, the girls he had ruined would probably be enough to form at least a reinforced platoon.

But the problem was that while Dai Mubai lived freely and happily, Zhu Zhuqing suffered miserably.

Her fiancé had fled overnight, leaving all the pressure to fall naturally upon Zhu Zhuqing.

Zhu Zhuqing's dear older sister, Zhu Zhuyun, was no pushover, and she showed little mercy toward her own younger sister.

Oh, no, that was not entirely accurate. Zhu Zhuyun had actually shown mercy. After all, if she had truly been ruthless, Zhu Zhuqing would not have lived to this day.

Of course, Zhu Zhuyun's mercy was not born of any deep sisterly affection. There were merely two reasons why she had not killed Zhu Zhuqing sooner.

For one, she did not consider her foolish little sister worth worrying about. Like a cat playing with a Rat, she toyed with Zhu Zhuqing. She could have killed her whenever she wanted, but Zhu Zhuyun simply refused to do it. Yep, she just wanted to play.

That was also a common flaw among villains. They clearly had the chance to eliminate the roots cleanly and decisively, yet they refused to do so. In the end, their posturing failed, and the protagonist overturned them and ground them into the dirt.

Aside from the brain-dead aura inherent to villains, the opinion of the Xingluo Imperial Family was another important reason.

What the Xingluo Imperial Family wanted to see was an evenly matched battle for the succession, not the absolute one-sided crushing situation that existed now.

Thus, as the referees, the Xingluo Imperial Family had actually favored Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing to a certain extent.

Otherwise, Dai Mubai would not have been able to escape Star Luo City, and Zhu Zhuqing, who had remained in Star Luo City, would already have been played to death by her sister.

Still, this battle had to have an outcome eventually.

Therefore, after some deliberation, the Xingluo Imperial Family ultimately decided that the final battle of the Throne Seizing Battle would take place at the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament.

Both sides participating in the Throne Seizing Battle would need to form their own teams and enter the competition. The victor would obtain the right to inherit the Star Luo throne, while the loser would meet a miserable end.

P.S. As always, please recommend, bookmark, and invest—especially invest. This book's contract status should change in the next couple of days, so now is the perfect time if you want to invest!