"Three Soul Ancestors. Big Sister really thinks highly of herself," Zhu Zhuqing said, gritting her teeth through her discomfort. Her pearly teeth bit into her lip as she struggled against the immense fluctuations of Soul Power.
In her current state, without a Second Martial Soul, she had no chance of surviving.
No... there seemed to be one sliver of hope...
Zhu Zhuqing's gaze involuntarily settled on Mu Qian.
Could he help me?
On the other side, Mu Qian had also noticed something was wrong with Zhu Zhuqing. His steps faltered, then he moved forward.
The instant he stood in front of Zhu Zhuqing, that terrifying pressure vanished.
"Three big brothers, don't you know that fighting is forbidden in Star Luo City?"
"I'd planned to let you live a little longer, but unfortunately, you didn't take the chance."
Mu Qian's voice grew colder and colder. By the end, his usual carefree manner had disappeared, leaving only bone-chilling coldness.
"This girl is fated to meet my Little Flower. I'll protect her today..."
"Roar~"
Before he could finish speaking, a deafening dragon's roar resounded through the sky, echoing across all of Star Luo City.
Countless tiles in the alley were shaken loose by the terrifying sound waves, clattering down nonstop.
The three men in black seemed to have encountered something horrifying. They stared blankly ahead.
In that moment, they felt their Martial Souls and bloodlines being suppressed by an indescribable force. A fear that seemed to come from their very souls surged through them.
Mu Qian spread his arms. As his majestic Soul Power pressure rolled out, an enormous dragon's shadow flickered into view, and a pair of magnificent, sacred Dragon Wings slowly unfurled behind him.
Along with the Dragon Wings came three pitch-black Spirit Rings.
The immense Soul Power pressure burst forth from the Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings, instantly crushing the three men's imposing auras.
Behind him, Zhu Zhuqing stared blankly at the scene before her, a strange light in her beautiful eyes.
She wasn't surprised by Mu Qian's cultivation or his Spirit Rings, nor did she pay any attention to those dazzling, sacred, terrifying Dragon Wings.
She simply looked at his not particularly broad back, feeling a rare sense of peace.
At the most desperate moment of Zhu Zhuqing's life, a boy had stood in front of her, bearing the storm that could have swept her frail body away...
"Th-three Ten Thousand Year Spirit Rings... How is that possible?" one of the men in black stammered.
Mu Qian didn't answer him. As his Second Soul Ring lit up, it sealed the three men's fate.
Countless icicles bloomed from within them, like flowers leaping with joy in spring.
The icicles froze all the water elements in their bodies—and took their lives as well.
"Soul Ancestors aren't all that impressive, after all." Mu Qian shook his head with a smile.
Suddenly, he realized something and hurriedly turned toward Zhu Zhuqing.
"Fighting is forbidden in Star Luo City. What just happened has probably attracted a lot of attention. We'd better get out of here."
With that, Mu Qian didn't wait to see whether she agreed. He took her delicate hand in his left and picked up Little Flower with his right.
The Dragon Wings on his back beat hard, and his figure vanished into the endless night.
Zhu Zhuqing was still immersed in the shock of what had just happened when she suddenly felt a warm hand enveloping hers—a hand that no one had ever touched before.
When she realized it was Mu Qian, a blush spread across her delicate face.
He's the same age as me... If only my fiancé were like him...
Then maybe I could have had a different choice, a different life...
"Sorry, I didn't realize. I made quite a commotion," Mu Qian said with an awkward smile.
He hadn't meant to make such a scene.
It was just that Mu Qian understood what Zhu Zhuqing wanted.
All she had ever wanted was strength—enough strength to change her fate.
That strength could be her own, or it could come from someone strong enough to shelter her and give her a warm harbor.
Mu Qian believed he could be the latter.
And as for helping her become strong herself, he could do that too.
The two of them sped through the night sky. Zhu Zhuqing stole glances at Mu Qian's profile, her heart beating rapidly for the first time.
The boy was handsome, like a ray of sunshine in the depths of winter, piercing the thick Mist and lighting up her darkened life.
He had seemed a little unserious when they first met, but that very first encounter had also breathed a spark of life back into her nearly dead heart.
Zhu Zhuqing didn't know the boy's name, much less where he was taking her.
Does it really matter where we're going? the girl couldn't help asking herself.
Perhaps leaving like this wasn't such a bad choice.
On a night of despair, Mu Qian had simply barged into her world—and into her heart.
Like the peerless hero she had once dreamed of.
The commoners' district of Star Luo City.
Zhu Zhuqing sat propped up on a rooftop, her pale legs swinging gently beneath the eaves.
Beside her, Mu Qian lay comfortably against the roof tiles, quietly listening to her story.
When she finished, silence returned to the tranquil night sky.
Zhu Zhuqing gazed sadly at the nightscape of Star Luo City, recalling the few warm moments she had experienced in the past.
"If you don't like the life you have now, why not leave? Sometimes, taking a step back lets you see a better view."
Mu Qian smiled brightly. There was no heaviness or mockery in his words. He spoke with her like an old friend, sharing his thoughts and listening to hers.
The girl's sorrow now, and the resolve she had shown when they first met, had stirred something deep within him.
It reminded him of that naive younger self, who had once seen a sliver of pure moonlight on a snowy night in another world.
Was this the feeling of falling in love for the first time?
Mu Qian didn't know. He had never even been brave enough to speak his feelings aloud.
In his previous life, he had been like his own Soul Skill—a mere ugly duckling among All Living Things.
Zhu Zhuqing shook her head. "If only I could leave. You don't understand. This is the fate imposed on me. No matter where I hide, I can't escape it."
She was happy. Her expression no longer downcast; compared to the countless cold nights she'd endured before, a thread of warmth now flowed through her heart.
Tonight, she had spoken more than she had in years. She had even revealed what was in her heart.
Before, she had always hidden away to lick her wounds alone. Today, someone sat beside her and listened like a friend.
Friend... What a precious word that was to her...
The girl she had once been had never had one...
Just two simple words, yet they seemed so far beyond her reach, like the moon reflected in water—no more than a dreamlike illusion.
Looking at the boy so close to her, even though she still didn't know his name, Zhu Zhuqing felt that he was the only person willing to come near her.
It felt like a dream, yet it was so real.
Zhu Zhuqing wanted to stay here just like this, never again thinking about the shackles weighing on her heart.
She wanted to think of nothing at all, only gaze silently at the distant night sky.
Before you continue