Cat Ears Stained with Golden Patterns

Zhu Zhuqing stumbled, steadying herself against the edge of the bed.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, channeling her soul power according to her usual habit.

"Hell Spirit Cat, possess!"

In an instant, pitch-black soul power erupted from within her body.

A pair of furry black cat ears stood up atop her head, and a slender cat tail unfurled behind her.

Gu Chensha, who had reappeared to the side, swept his gaze over her appearance, a playful glint flashing in the depths of his eyes.

Those soft, fuzzy cat ears actually stirred a desire in him to tease her.

Meanwhile, Zhu Zhuqing had already sensed the changes in her martial soul.

The martial soul was indeed still the Hell Spirit Cat, but unlike anything she had known before...

Fine, intricate Dark Gold Demonic Markings had emerged on her cat ears, her cat tail, and even on her exposed forearms, neck, and abdomen!

Deep within her slit pupils, a trace of an abyssal hue of dark gold had also taken root.

Her originally cold and isolated temperament was now tinged with a heart-stopping ferocity and sense of oppression.

But... why did something feel wrong?

Her soul power level, why did it seem to have... dropped?

She had clearly been a level 27 Soul Grand Master before; how was it that she was now only level 21?

"There is no gain without loss; this is the inevitable price. Although your soul power has temporarily decreased, your innate soul power has been fundamentally altered."

Gu Chensha looked at her and spoke indifferently.

"I have already helped you raise your innate soul power from level 6 directly to level 10—that is, Innate Full Soul Power."

In truth, Gu Chensha felt a hint of regret; if he could have reset her level to 10 and stripped away those two soul skills he deemed utterly foolish, that would have been the best outcome.

Hearing this, Zhu Zhuqing's beautiful eyes trembled, and tears welled up instantly.

It was not that she had never cried before.

It was just that those tears had all fallen in the dead of night when no one was watching:

They fell in the wretchedness of collapsing onto the cold ground after exhausting her soul power to the point of collapse.

They fell amidst the idle gossip of others mocking her mediocre aptitude.

They fell in that empty inn room when she learned her fiancé had abandoned his family to flee to Suotuo City, where he spent his days indulging in fleeting pleasures.

She had always kept herself taut, like a bow pulled to its limit, never daring to slacken for even a moment.

She knew all too well what level 6 innate soul power meant.

Among commoners, this was a rare talent, but she was born into a vassal family of the Star Luo Empire's imperial clan.

Under the rule of the strong preying on the weak, this starting point was a massive step behind everyone else.

To avoid being discarded by her family, to survive the cruel trials of the imperial house, and to catch up to the person who was supposed to stand by her side, she had no choice but to put in ten, even a hundred times more effort than others!

Along the journey of her escape from the Star Luo Empire, facing ambushes by assassins and attacks from soul beasts, the many times she had collapsed in a pool of blood, it was only that breath of "refusing to accept her fate" that had kept her going.

So... she could also possess Innate Full Soul Power!

So she no longer had to risk her life just to chase after someone else's starting line.

The tears in her eyes finally overflowed, falling one after another onto the back of her hand.

She did not cry out, and her shoulders barely even shook.

Only her slightly heaving chest and her uncontrollably trembling eyelashes betrayed the emotions she had suppressed for over a decade, finally breaking through at this moment.

Gu Chensha leaned against a nearby pillar, not speaking to disturb her, just watching her quietly, the playfulness in his eyes fading slightly.

He understood the grievances hidden beneath this girl's cold, hard shell.

She possessed the most ruthless tenacity and the fiercest obsession, yet she was trapped in the calculations of her family and a ridiculous marriage contract.

She had wasted half her life for a coward who dared not even shoulder his own destiny, eventually becoming nothing more than a foil for others, unable to even walk her own path straight.

However, he did not offer a single word of soft comfort, instead letting out a cold scoff.

Only when she raised her hand to wipe her face messily, barely suppressing her surging emotions to put back on that cold, aloof mask, did he speak slowly.

"Innate Full Soul Power is nothing more than a beginning."

He tilted his chin and said, "You have yet to see the thing that can truly change your destiny; try your second martial soul."

Zhu Zhuqing was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously followed his guidance to calm her heart and touch that scorching, dark golden power that had previously been obscured.

"Second Martial Soul, Primordial Demon Spider Emperor!"

She recited the name almost instinctively.

The moment her voice fell, a terrifying aura, countless times more vast than that of the Hell Spirit Cat, erupted from within her!

A wave of dark golden soul power instantly swept through the entire room, the air itself pressed until it emitted a harsh, piercing hum.

The void behind her was torn open, and eight dark golden spider legs covered in mysterious demonic markings slowly emerged from the rift, every single bristle gleaming with a cold, metallic luster.

Even a mere phantom projection carried the pressure of a Fierce Beast Emperor, enough to scatter the souls of ordinary spirit masters.

This was the evolutionary apex of the Man Faced Demon Spider: the Primordial Demon Spider Emperor!

Gu Chensha narrowed his eyes, not the least bit worried that this commotion would alert those big shots at Martial Soul Hall.

If he didn't even have the means to mask such a disturbance, he would have lived those five hundred years in vain.

Zhu Zhuqing stood frozen in place.

She could clearly feel that this martial soul was connected to her bloodline, a power that belonged entirely to her.

Boundless soul power flowed through her meridians without a hint of rejection.

Just then, a soul ring rose slowly from beneath her feet.

It was not the yellow century-old soul ring she was familiar with, nor a purple millennium soul ring, and certainly not the legendary red soul ring of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast...

It was a soul ring of the deepest, most extreme dark black!

The ring was coiled with intricate Dark Gold Demonic Markings, its edges shimmering with a halo as scarlet as a Blood Moon.

With every rotation, it exuded a suffocating aura of ferocity.

Zhu Zhuqing stared at the soul ring beneath her feet, holding her breath.

In her dozen or so years of life, the highest-ranked soul ring she had ever seen was the ten-thousand-year black ring of her family elders.

Never mind two hundred thousand years; even the red rings of hundred-thousand-year beasts were things she had only heard of in legends.

And now, such a terrifying soul ring, far surpassing any legend, rested quietly upon her, serving as the first soul ring for her second martial soul.

"That's right, this is your second martial soul."

Gu Chensha's tone carried an air of natural arrogance.

"Today, its mere shadow is enough to awe the masses. In time, whether you wish to slay gods or slaughter buddhas, it will be but a single thought away."

He did not hold back his pride regarding his own Origin Body.

"The soul ring I have given you comes with two Soul Skills; that two-hundred-thousand-year Head Bone also possesses two exclusive abilities."

"As for their specific wonders, you shall explore them slowly on your own."

No sooner had he finished speaking than his brows arched slightly, and he looked toward the door.

"Withdraw your martial soul first; someone is coming."

No sooner had he finished speaking than his brows arched slightly, and he looked toward the door.

"Withdraw your martial soul first; someone is coming."

"Remember, no matter what they ask later, answer exactly as I taught you."