Zhu Zhuqing's Past, Sixteenth

Yue Guan, flying back to Spirit Hall, saw that the Beauty Ranking had changed again.

Seventeenth place: Zhu Zhuyun, from the Star Luo Empire.

There really were few beauties in the Star Luo Empire.

Zhu Zhuyun was a well-known beauty, once hailed as the number one beauty of Star Luo.

After all, the Zhu Family had been bound by marriage contracts with the Star Luo royal family for generations, so they were a key focus of Spirit Hall.

Of course, that was only secondary.

The most important thing was that her younger sister was also at Qingyun Academy.

Qingyun Academy truly seemed to be everywhere.

Yet it could not be found anywhere.

Rumors had always circulated, yet no one had ever managed to locate it.

It was driving him mad.

And her younger sister had even been deemed more beautiful than Zhu Zhuyun by the Heavenly Ranking.

She was the number one beauty of the Star Luo Empire.

It seemed her younger sister might have gained some benefits at Qingyun Academy, allowing her looks to surpass Zhu Zhuyun's?

Spirit Hall.

Bibi Dong looked at the golden words on the Heavenly Ranking and sneered.

"The number one beauty of the Star Luo Empire only ranks seventeenth?"

Then she saw that Zhu Zhuyun's younger sister was actually the true number one beauty of the Star Luo Empire.

And she was studying at Qingyun Academy.

Did that mean Qingyun Academy would have three students on the Beauty Ranking?

What... kind of academy was this?

It was far too mysterious.

There was no way to investigate it.

That was what drove people the most insane.

Before long, Yue Guan returned to Spirit Hall.

Yue Guan cupped his hands in salute. "Greetings, Your Holiness. I found some information on Qingyun Academy!"

"Speak!"

Bibi Dong said coldly, though anticipation flickered in her eyes.

"As you saw, Shui Yue'er's older sister studies at Qingyun Academy. Two years ago, Shui Bing'er was only in her thirties in Soul Power Level. A few months ago, when Shui Bing'er returned home, she was already a fifteen-year-old Soul King with a Soul Power Level in the fifties."

Yue Guan's sharp, androgynous voice rang out.

Pope's Palace suddenly fell deathly silent.

Even Bibi Dong was stunned by this information.

"Qingyun Academy's future is beyond imagination.

Search the entire continent for it!

Invite them to join Spirit Hall.

Otherwise... kill them!!"

As she spoke the last words, a deep, chilling glint flashed through her eyes, and her killing intent surged.

"Yes!"

Yue Guan immediately backed out.

Qingyun Academy.

Zhu Zhuqing looked at the three familiar golden words that had appeared on the Heavenly Ranking: "Zhu Zhuyun."

She could not help taking a deep breath.

She had not expected Zhu Zhuyun to rank only seventeenth.

Nor had she expected herself to steal Zhu Zhuyun's title as the number one beauty of the Star Luo Empire.

"Wow... I never knew Zhu Zhuqing was from the Star Luo Empire! And she's even Star Luo nobility!"

Seeing the information on the Heavenly Ranking, Ning Rongrong looked at Zhu Zhuqing in surprise.

The others also turned to look at the cool and distant Zhu Zhuqing.

"Zhuqing, I have a question. The Star Luo Empire is so far away. How did you come to the Heaven Dou Empire?"

Dugu Yan had always trained and sparred with Zhu Zhuqing, and the two had become very close.

She simply had not expected Zhu Zhuqing never to have mentioned where she came from.

Much less that Zhu Zhuqing was from the Star Luo Empire,

and was even a noble.

"Does the Headmaster want to know?"

Zhu Zhuqing looked at Lu Xia beside her.

"Go ahead."

Although Lu Xia had read the Soul Land novels and watched the animation, he had long forgotten some of the details.

"Our family has special rules.

To make future heirs more outstanding, the family selects two descendants to compete.

The competing descendants are raised to regard each other as enemies.

The loser is directly executed.

And I am seven years younger than Zhu Zhuyun.

I was younger, so I had no advantage in competing with her.

Besides, we were close when we were children.

If I had not run away from home,

then,

we would have fought a life-or-death duel when I turned twenty-five.

I would surely have died then!"

As Zhu Zhuqing said this, a helpless yet unyielding expression appeared on her face. It was her defiance against her family's rules.

For the sake of sisterly affection, she had given up the family's competition.

And run away.

"Uh..."

Ning Rongrong was dumbfounded. She had never expected Zhu Zhuqing's family to be so cruel.

They had actually disregarded the bonds of blood and set such disgusting, survival-of-the-fittest rules that forced family members to kill one another.

She thought of her own home, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Her father spoiled her, Sword Grandpa cherished her, and Bone Grandpa coaxed her.

She had never suffered the slightest grievance from childhood to adulthood.

Yet Zhu Zhuqing had to endure such suffering.

Just thinking about it made her heart ache.

"Zhuqing!"

Seeing that Zhu Zhuqing faced such injustice without crying or showing any sense of grievance, Ning Rongrong could not help opening her arms and hugging her.

"You've had it hard. Fortunately, you met the Headmaster.

Qingyun Academy is your home now, and it is our other home too!"

"That's right, we're all family!"

Ye Lingling walked over and hugged Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing.

Shui Bing'er and Dugu Yan also came over.

They had not expected Zhu Zhuqing's past to be so tragic.

Just thinking about it made their hearts ache.

They stepped forward and embraced them as well.

Lu Xia stared blankly at the sight of the five beautiful girls hugging one another.

Still, it was a beautiful scene.

Their softest parts.

Were pressed tightly together.

It was a breathtaking sight.

At that moment, they were healing one another.

That was what comforted Lu Xia.

Of these five students, only Zhu Zhuqing, Dugu Yan, and Ye Lingling had suffered bitter lives.

One had been tormented by family rules and relatives,

one had been tortured by snake venom,

and one had been affected by the nature of her Martial Soul, losing her grandmother at a young age and having few remaining relatives.

But here, they had learned to let their hearts be free. Then every problem could be readily solved.

Clear Sky Sect.

Tang Xiao's expression darkened.

Qingyun Academy again. What exactly was this academy?

The famous academies he knew were Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Star Luo Royal Academy, and Martial Soul High-Level Elite Academy.

This Qingyun Academy had suddenly emerged, with one student already on the ranking and two more about to appear.

It would certainly draw the attention of many factions, all wanting to know what Qingyun Academy truly was.

He had not expected the younger sister of the Clear Sky Sect's leader, the number one sect under heaven, to rank only nineteenth.

Yet Qingyun Academy had directly surpassed Clear Sky Sect.

Tang Xiao was not the only one paying attention to Qingyun Academy.

All the major factions in the world wanted to know Qingyun Academy's origins.

But they could not find it.

Star Luo Empire.

Star Luo Royal Noble Academy.

Zhu Zhuyun, Dai Weisi, and the rest of their team were gazing at the Heavenly Ranking.

"Congratulations!" Dai Weisi had golden hair and a powerful build, giving off an immense sense of pressure. Yet he was exceptionally gentle toward Zhu Zhuyun, smiling warmly.

"Mm!" Zhu Zhuyun met Dai Weisi's gaze and nodded gently, a hint of shy sweetness appearing on her face.

Then golden runes began swirling through the sky.

"Boom..."

A beam of golden light shot down from the Heavenly Ranking.

It enveloped Zhu Zhuyun.

Zhu Zhuyun felt the Soul Power within her body rapidly soar.

Soon, her Soul Power Level rose from forty-six to forty-eight.

The Soul Rings beneath her feet slowly rose as well, changing under the illumination of the golden light.

Her first Soul Ring increased to nine hundred and seventy years, its color becoming extremely deep.

Her second Soul Ring turned purple, while the colors of her third and fourth Soul Rings deepened further.

"Buzz..."

Soul Power surged around her body, and her Soul Power Level rose once more, reaching forty-nine.

She also felt her body become lighter, a sign that her speed and agility had improved.

She felt an invisible charm added to her body, making her entire presence even more captivating.

"Congratulations, Vice Captain!"

The other members of the Star Luo Royal Team came over to congratulate her.

They were preparing for the Continental Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament.

Zhu Zhuyun's improvement was undoubtedly of great benefit to them.

"Buzz..."

The Heavenly Ranking in the sky changed once again.

One golden character after another appeared.

[Beauty Ranking, Sixteenth Place...]

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