Purple Pearl Recovers Memory, Star Luo Empire Shaken: Coastal City Lost, Crown Prince Captured?

Zi Zhenzhu stared intently at Lan Yiyi's blissful profile. She felt as if the jar of jealousy in her heart had shattered, sending sourness surging through her.

"Just you wait. One day, I'll stand in that place too!"

Zi Zhenzhu gave an indignant huff. As she watched the two figures on the rooftop, her eyes held both envy and an unyielding determination.

Just as Zi Zhenzhu turned away in frustration, hoping that what she couldn't see wouldn't bother her...

Perhaps the jealousy she'd just felt had been too strong. Or perhaps days of fighting and travel had kept her mind wound tight.

With her emotions surging so violently in that moment, a long-sealed string deep in Zi Zhenzhu's mind seemed to snap.

"Ugh..."

Zi Zhenzhu's step abruptly faltered. The world spun around her.

Her once-clear vision blurred in an instant, and countless scattered, jumbled fragments of memory flooded into her mind like a dam bursting.

A magnificent, gilded ceiling...

The solemn, majestic Six-Winged Angel Statue...

And stern, merciless lessons, repeated again and again...

"What... is happening..."

Zi Zhenzhu clutched her head in pain. Before her groan had fully escaped, she went limp and fell backward.

With a dull thud, the pirate queen who had ruled the seas collapsed right there on the terrace.

When Zi Zhenzhu regained consciousness, the first thing she saw was a luxurious bed canopy embroidered with exquisite cloud patterns.

"Where... am I?"

Zi Zhenzhu rubbed her still-aching temples and slowly sat up.

In that instant, the jumbled fragments of yesterday's memories had finished falling into place, unfolding in her mind like a clear painting.

She froze.

Her eyes, once marked by a hint of wildness and a bandit's roughness, now brimmed with shock and tangled emotions.

She remembered.

She remembered everything.

She had never been born a pirate, nor had the sea raised her as an orphan.

She had once been a member of Spirit Hall—and, more than that, one of the Saintess Candidates Spirit Hall had carefully groomed!

The past she had forgotten beneath the deep sea:

The brutal selections, the endless training, and her defeat in the most crucial contest. To escape the suffocating oppression and punishment, she had fled overseas. Eventually, disaster had struck near Lost Trace Canyon, damaging her memory—and giving rise to the pirate captain Zi Zhenzhu who came afterward.

"So... this is who I really am..."

Zi Zhenzhu murmured, her expression dazed.

Just then, a warm voice came from beside the bed, interrupting her thoughts:

"You're awake?

How do you feel?"

Zi Zhenzhu whipped around. Only then did she notice Xu Zhao sitting in a grand armchair not far from the bed.

Xu Zhao held an old book in his hands. A cup of steaming tea sat on the table beside him, and it was clear he had been keeping watch for some time.

At the sight of him, the confusion and apprehension she had felt upon recovering her memories were swept away by a great warmth.

The Heir Prince of the Great Sun Prince Mansion, one of the highest-ranking commanders who had just taken Linhai City, had personally stayed by her bedside!

"Heir Prince..."

Zi Zhenzhu's eyes reddened. She was overwhelmed by gratitude.

She took a deep breath and threw back the covers. She paid no heed to her rumpled clothes, instead fixing Xu Zhao with a solemn gaze, filled with unprecedented resolve and honesty.

"Heir Prince, I have something to report to you."

Xu Zhao set down his book and looked at her kindly.

"Go ahead."

"I've regained my memories."

Zi Zhenzhu bit her lip. Though her voice was a little hoarse, her words were exceptionally clear.

"I... wasn't just an ordinary pirate."

"Before I lost my memory and washed up on an island, I came from Spirit Hall."

She paused, as if watching for Xu Zhao's reaction. Seeing that his expression remained calm, she gathered the courage to continue.

"Moreover, I was one of the Saintess Candidates from Spirit Hall's previous generation."

"Though I ultimately failed and chose to flee, I still remember many of Spirit Hall's secrets and the layout of its grounds...

If the Heir Prince needs them, Zi Zhenzhu is willing to offer everything to him without reservation!"

Having finished, Zi Zhenzhu watched Xu Zhao nervously.

After all, Spirit Hall was a colossal force on the continent, and a formidable enemy the Great Sun Prince Mansion would have to face in its invasion of Douluo Continent.

She didn't know whether her identity would create a rift between her and the Heir Prince.

Yet after hearing her out, Xu Zhao showed no surprise at all.

He merely smiled, rose, and walked to the bedside. Then he gently ruffled Zi Zhenzhu's short, neat hair.

"That's all?"

"Huh?" Zi Zhenzhu stared at him. "Heir Prince... aren't you surprised? I'm from Spirit Hall..."

"I know."

Xu Zhao spoke as calmly as if he were discussing something trivial.

"From the moment I decided to bring you under my command, I already knew everything about you.

Whether you were a Saintess Candidate of Spirit Hall or the pirate queen, it made no difference to me. You have only one identity now—you belong to the Great Sun Prince Mansion."

Xu Zhao had originally planned to find an opportunity to use certain methods to stimulate her memories.

He hadn't expected Zi Zhenzhu to recover them so quickly on her own—and to wake up and immediately confess everything to him without reservation.

That loyalty and trust were what Xu Zhao valued most.

('Loyalty' and 'trust'—the standard equipment for subordinates, huh? What useful tools!)

"I thought this would take some effort, but you've surprised me."

Watching the gratitude in Zi Zhenzhu's eyes, Xu Zhao thought to himself:

Now that she had regained her memories, he could begin putting some plans against Spirit Hall into motion ahead of schedule.

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away.

Star Luo City, the Imperial Capital of the Star Luo Empire.

As the heart of one of the Two Great Empires on Douluo Continent, Star Luo City had always been known for its iron discipline and solemnity.

In the palace's main hall, Star Luo Emperor Dai Tianfeng sat upon the throne, his stern gaze sweeping over the civil and military officials below as they held their regular court session.

"Your Majesty, the empire's southern border enjoyed favorable weather this year, and the garrison's training has also yielded good results..."

A minister held a memorial and reported on some unimportant administrative matters.

Suddenly—

"Report—!!!"

A piercing cry, disregarding the palace's strict rules, rang out from outside the hall.

A messenger with a flag on his back, drenched in blood, stumbled into the hall.

He didn't even have time to salute before pitching forward onto the floor. His voice was hoarse and broken with exhaustion and terror.

"Urgent report! Linhai City... Linhai City has fallen!!"

Boom!

The words exploded through the gilded hall like a bomb.

The officials erupted in an uproar, and the solemn atmosphere vanished.

"What?!"

Dai Tianfeng shot to his feet on the throne. A terrifying wave of Soul Power burst forth, making the hall tremble.

He glared at the messenger and shouted:

"Utter nonsense!

Linhai City is a major stronghold in the eastern part of my empire, with sturdy defenses and thousands of elite troops stationed there. How could it have fallen just like that?!"

"Which group of pirates was it?

Or was it a surprise attack by the Heaven Dou Empire?!"

The messenger lay on the floor, trembling violently. His voice cracked with tears.

"N-no... It wasn't Heaven Dou, and they weren't ordinary pirates..."

"They call themselves the Great Sun Prince Mansion!

They came aboard Steel Giant Ships as tall as mountains. It took them only... only half an hour to completely break through Linhai City!"

"Half an hour?!"

A chorus of sharp intakes of breath filled the hall.

A general clad in heavy armor strode forward and rebuked him.

"Absurd!

Even if Spirit Hall launched a full-scale assault, it couldn't take Linhai City in half an hour!

Have you been hit by an illusion, you fool? Are you trying to shake the army's morale?!"

"It's absolutely true, General!"

The messenger raised his head, terror still lingering in his eyes.

"The other side had a Titled Douluo!

And... and that Titled Douluo possessed a legendary Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring!

One strike was enough to destroy the city's defensive camp!"

"A Titled Douluo with a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring?!"

This time, even Dai Tianfeng's expression changed completely.

As a ruler, he knew exactly what that meant.

It was power at the very peak of the continent—something like a nuclear weapon.

"There's more..."

The messenger swallowed, looking as if the next part was even harder to say. But he had no choice.

"The Crown Prince... and Miss Zhuyun of the Zhu Clan, as well as every member of the Royal Team..."

At the words "Crown Prince," Dai Tianfeng's heart clenched. A dreadful premonition welled up inside him.

"What happened to Weiss and the others?

Speak!"

"During their breakout... they were captured by the Great Sun Prince Mansion. Now... now they're all prisoners!"

(The update spree begins now! I hope everyone won't leave the book sitting unread!)