Xiao Wu's heart tightened when she heard that, and she couldn't help gripping her hand:
"How can there be such an unreasonable rule? Can't you just refuse to fight?"
Ning Rongrong knitted her brows as well. She knew the royal family's struggles in the Star Luo Empire were dangerous, but she hadn't expected the empire to be so harsh:
"Isn't there any other way? For example... giving up the right to inherit?"
Zhu Qing shook her head and gave a bitter laugh. "The rules of the Star Luo Empire have never been up to the individual."
"From the moment we were born, we were nailed to the chessboard of this struggle. Either we step on our opponents and climb upward, or... we fall and are shattered to pieces."
Zhu Qing lowered her eyes. Her long eyelashes cast a shadow beneath them, hiding all her emotions.
Zhu Qing hugged Ning Rongrong tightly, her shoulders trembling violently.
The grievances and despair she had held back for so long poured out completely like floodwaters bursting through a dam.
"I originally thought... I thought he had left the Star Luo Empire and come to Shrek Academy to cultivate properly, so he could build up some confidence before going back to face Dai Weisi..."
Her voice was choked with sobs, sounding broken and disjointed.
"But what about him? Every day, all he knows is fooling around with those disreputable women! He doesn't care at all about that life-or-death battle three years from now!"
"Dai Mubai is already a lost cause!"
Zhu Qing suddenly raised her voice, her words filled with disappointment and anger.
"With the way he is now, how could he possibly defeat Dai Weisi three years from now? He's just waiting to die!"
"But I don't want to die..."
The last few words