(Zhu Zhuqing illustration)
The fallen Zhu Zhuqing was forced to touch the future,
finally stirring Lin Jiang's consciousness.
Lin Jiang's lashes trembled as he slowly awoke from his light slumber.
The shape that entered his vision:
(one)
Zhu Zhuqing sprang away from Lin Jiang as if electrocuted,
fumbling to straighten her clothes.
Her cheeks burned, and even the tips of her ears had turned crimson,
as though she wished she could vanish on the spot.
Lin Jiang also sat upright, a rare flush passing over his face.
He cleared his throat, trying to regain his usual composure.
"Cough, cough... Zhuqing, what are you..."
Zhu Zhuqing was so embarrassed she nearly bit through her lip, but the obsession deep in her heart to become stronger overwhelmed all her current humiliation.
She thought of Ning Rongrong's meteoric rise in strength, of the heavy fate resting upon her shoulders,
and of the unfathomable, godlike power of the man before her...
She suddenly raised her head. Her gaze blazed with a desperate courage, though her voice trembled slightly with nervousness.
"Master... I... I want to become stronger too!"
Seeing the mixture of shyness and resolve in her eyes, how could Lin Jiang not understand where this misunderstanding had come from?
He helplessly rubbed his forehead and shook his head with a laugh.
"Sigh... you two girls... who exactly told you that becoming stronger required... this?"
He said no more. With a thought, the Eternal Treasure Crystal Bottle appeared in his palm.
As light flowed across it, the bottle's mouth poured forth a soft radiance that stirred the heart.
Lin Jiang's expression turned solemn. With a gentle motion of his fingers, an unusual plant slowly floated out.
It was a pure white flower, shaped like a peony yet more graceful and aloof.
Its petals were