Star Fruit

She had a fiancé, but all the turmoil she'd felt over how society would judge her was shattered completely when she saw what had happened.

Maybe it doesn't matter that much after all. What makes that scumbag worth agonizing over?

Zhu Zhuqing couldn't help feeling her state of mind improve even further.

Mu Qian took the fruit and bit into it, looking relaxed. "Zhuqing, my injuries are almost healed. But for now, let's not rush to look for a suitable Spirit Beast."

"What's wrong?" Zhu Zhuqing asked in confusion.

"Something feels off. The Earth King shouldn't be here. I suspect something in the middle reaches caught his attention."

Mu Qian explained, "I've never suffered such a huge loss in all these years. Let's go take a look later and find a chance to raid his lair."

"Maybe we shouldn't. That's an eighty-thousand-year Spirit Beast, and I'd only hold you back..." Zhu Zhuqing said worriedly.

"I don't really mind, but... I don't want you to get hurt..."

Mu Qian stared at her in surprise. Since when had she, usually so cool and reserved, started saying things like that?

Even when she'd cared about him before, she'd never said it so plainly.

"What are you talking about? What do you mean, you don't mind? You're a precious, brilliant pearl. Don't underestimate yourself." Mu Qian tapped Zhu Zhuqing on the head.

The young girl gazed at him with bright, clear eyes, her heart welling with sweet joy.

So I really am that important to him?

"Don't worry. I have a trump card. Even if I can't defeat the Earth King, I'm confident I can get away unharmed," Mu Qian said firmly.

"But you'll have to wait for me at the edge of the forest for a while..."

"No!" Zhu Zhuqing immediately objected.

"We agreed to stick together..." The young girl lowered her head. Even she thought the excuse sounded a little flimsy.

Zhu Zhuqing knew her presence might cause trouble for Mu Qian. She also knew that against an eighty-thousand-year Spirit Beast, one small mistake could cost him his life.

Perhaps after everything she'd been through, she simply didn't feel safe. She just couldn't bear to let Mu Qian leave her sight.

Zhu Zhuqing was like a startled kitten, unusually sensitive inside.

She felt frightened and deeply uneasy, as though the moment Mu Qian left, the past would repeat itself and he would never come back.

But she also didn't want him to give up a chance that might be waiting for him because of her.

Mu Qian froze for a moment, unable to see through the girl's thoughts.

No matter how mature he was for his age, he'd never experienced enough to understand the intricacies of love. He still couldn't read a girl's mind perfectly.

But that was only natural. No one was perfect, and he was no exception.

"But..." Mu Qian looked troubled. He was thinking mostly about Zhu Zhuqing's safety.

He hesitated, but in the end, he caught on to one small clue. He couldn't bring himself to leave her here alone.

Maybe she's afraid of being alone.

"You silly girl. How could I leave you here by yourself? Come on. We'll just be careful." Without thinking, Mu Qian took her cool hand in his, stopping her from letting her thoughts run wild.

"Mm." Zhu Zhuqing answered, some of the worry fading from her eyes.

Her voice was soft and sweet, stirring the imagination.

Mu Qian smiled helplessly. If he'd gone alone, he might have been able to take a chance. But with Zhu Zhuqing along, they'd have to play it by ear.

If things went badly, they'd flee at once. No opportunity was worth more than their lives.

I promised to protect her. I may not be a gentleman, but I've never gone back on my word.

In central Douluo Continent, at the border between the Two Great Empires, stood an extraordinarily bustling city.

In scale and grandeur, the city was even more imposing than the capitals of the Two Great Empires. Yet it belonged to no country and had its own independent governing authority.

This was Spirit Hall's headquarters: Spirit City.

At the heart of Spirit City stood what was said to be the grandest building on the entire continent. It housed Spirit Hall's highest governing body: Pope Palace.

A girl in a snow-white dress walked slowly up the long flight of stairs. With each step, a layer of bone-chilling frost spread across the white marble beneath her feet.

The girl seemed to have come with ill intent.

Yet the two lines of Palace Guard Knights in silver armor paid her no mind. They stared straight ahead, their expressions stern, as though nothing unusual had happened.

With a gentle wave of the girl's hand, the grand, sacred doors slowly swung open.

At last, the girl stopped. Her cool eyes held no trace of emotion. "Bibi Dong, it's time to keep your promise..."

Star Luo Empire, Star Forest.

Mu Qian and Zhu Zhuqing cautiously made their way through the woods, soon returning to where they had encountered the Earth King earlier.

This time they were prepared. Mu Qian used his skilled control over wood to conceal their auras as much as possible.

They seemed to blend into the surroundings. Unless the Spirit Beasts saw them directly, they wouldn't sense anything amiss.

A gap about ten meters wide stretched through the forest, like a trail left by some enormous creature as it moved.

Mu Qian and Zhu Zhuqing exchanged a glance, then followed the trail without a word.

"Zhuqing, be careful. Something feels wrong." Mu Qian's expression turned grave as he instinctively tightened his grip around Zhu Zhuqing's wrist.

Zhu Zhuqing nodded, her expression just as serious. She stayed close to Mu Qian, warily watching the path ahead.

As they ventured deeper, Mu Qian noticed the light growing stranger.

It was clearly midday, and there were no tall trees blocking the sunlight above, yet the light around them gradually dimmed.

Faint points of light shimmered through a gap in the forest up ahead, dazzling like the aurora Mu Qian had seen in the Far North.

"Something strange is bound to be going on. Zhuqing, we may be close to our target." Mu Qian pondered for a moment, then slowed their pace again.

They went deeper and deeper, and the surroundings grew darker, until at last they could only make out the way ahead by the faint glow.

Finally, Mu Qian and Zhu Zhuqing reached a low hill.

He gently pushed aside a huge leaf in their way and finally saw the source of the strange glow.

"That's..."

"What... what is that?"

They both exclaimed in surprise. Zhu Zhuqing was confused, while Mu Qian was startled because he had seen it before with his own eyes.

In the distance lay a clearing about twenty meters across. A gigantic scorpion was sprawled there, seemingly asleep.

The enormous scorpion was snow-white all over. A fierce killing intent emanated from every joint in its body. A tail made of nine bony segments ended in a fiery-red stinger, curled around in front of its massive body.

It was the Earth King, the top-tier Spirit Beast with eighty thousand years of cultivation that had pursued Mu Qian and Zhu Zhuqing earlier.

But that wasn't what had surprised them.

Directly in front of the Earth King's stinger grew a strange little tree.

The sapling wasn't very tall, about the height of a human child. Its sparse leaves were all as black as ink.

Strangest of all, a silvery-gray fruit resembling a starry sky grew at its tip.

"So it's a Star Fruit..." Mu Qian's eyes widened in astonishment...

For Spirit Beasts, this thing was just as effective as Immortal Grade Herbs!