Good Disciple or White-Eyed Wolf No. 2

"Y-yes, Your Holiness." Zhu Yan bit her lip. Though her voice was childish, it carried a streak of stubbornness. She did not kneel, merely bowing her head slightly.

"Don't be nervous. This Seat's domain is not some man-eating den of monsters."

Qian Xunji rose from his throne and approached Zhu Yan, crouching down to bring his line of sight level with hers.

"Let's see... it's been a while since your eldest sister returned. This Seat is rather curious: after she returned to the Star Luo Imperial Palace... how has she been faring? That sick cat Dai Tianfeng didn't give her any trouble, did he?"

Qian Xunji wore a gentle smile, but a glimmer of gossipy intrigue flickered in the depths of his eyes.

Hearing Qian Xunji mention her eldest sister and the Emperor, the tension on Zhu Yan's small face shattered instantly. Her eyes turned red, and the suppressed grievance and anger could no longer be contained.

"The Emperor is a bad person! He's a total madman!"

Zhu Yan gritted her teeth, clenching her small fists, her voice thick with obvious sobs.

"Eldest Sister suffered so much just to save him, but the moment he woke up, he didn't just smash the medicine bowl she offered him—he even cursed her in front of all the servants, calling her a... a shameless slut!"

As she spoke, tears began to stream down Zhu Yan's face.

"Eldest Sister cried for an entire night. The next day, she put me on a carriage and told me never to return to the Star Luo Empire again. She said it was a man-eating cage.

She told me to cultivate well here, to never trust anyone, and to rely only on my own fists..."

Listening to this bloody accusation, delivered with the uninhibited honesty of a child, Qian Xunji nearly failed to suppress a laugh.

His heart was blooming with joy.

The effect was a hundred times more perfect than he had anticipated!

Once a seed of suspicion is planted, it only needs a little nourishment from hearsay to grow into a towering tree.

Dai Tianfeng's extreme, arrogant imperial dignity could never tolerate his Empress spending an entire night in another man's secret chamber.

This wave of sowing discord had been bloodless, yet it had completely crippled the Star Luo Empire's strategic trump card: the Hell White Tiger.

From this day forward, if that estranged imperial couple, Dai Tianfeng and Zhu Wanying, could still achieve 100% synchronization to perform their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Qian Xunji would gladly gnaw through the city walls of Jialing Pass.

"Sigh, what a pitiful woman. To accompany a monarch is to accompany a tiger."

On the surface, however, Qian Xunji feigned a look of heartbreak and compassion, even gently reaching out to wipe the tears from the corners of Zhu Yan's eyes.

"Your sister is right; the Star Luo royal family is truly unworthy of her loyalty.

But rest assured, since you have arrived at Martial Soul Hall, this is your new home. Here, there is no crushing weight of imperial power—only the pure pursuit of strength."

Feeling the warmth from Qian Xunji's fingertips and the sacred aura that made one instinctively want to draw close, the heart that had been stuck in Zhu Yan's throat finally settled.

"Your Holiness... are you truly willing to take me in? I... I haven't awakened my Martial Soul yet. What if I'm a waste?"

Zhu Yan looked up, her eyes filled with trepidation. In the Star Luo Empire, a waste without a Martial Soul or strength was worth less than a pig or a dog.

"A waste? The word 'waste' does not exist in this Seat's dictionary."

Qian Xunji stood up and waved his hand, exuding the domineering air of one who commands the world.

"Meeting is fate. Since you have come before This Seat, I shall personally preside over your Martial Soul awakening ceremony today."

No sooner said than done.

Qian Xunji swept his right hand through the void, and six black awakening stones instantly flew out, arranging themselves into a perfect hexagram formation on the ground beneath Zhu Yan's feet.

"Stand inside, close your eyes, and use your heart to feel the power within you. No matter what happens, do not be afraid."

Qian Xunji's voice seemed to carry a certain magic. Zhu Yan nodded obediently, took a deep breath, and stepped into the center of the formation.

"Hum—"

Qian Xunji casually cast a strand of pure, golden soul power into the six awakening stones.

In an instant, a pale golden light barrier enveloped Zhu Yan, and warm energy flowed continuously into her petite body through the formation.

Zhu Yan felt her entire body growing warm, as comfortable as if she were soaking in a hot spring. The muscles that had been sore from her long journey completely relaxed.

Just then, a sudden change occurred!

"Meow—!"

A sharp cat's cry, laced with a cold, murderous aura, suddenly rang out through the vast hall.

Immediately following, a deep purple light exploded behind Zhu Yan.

Within the light, the phantom of a spirit cat—slender in build, entirely dark purple, with eyes like two top-grade amethysts—emerged silently!

The moment the spirit cat phantom appeared, the temperature in the entire hall seemed to drop. It paced behind Zhu Yan with elegant, silent steps, its sharp claws flickering in and out of existence.

"Hell Spirit Cat."

Qian Xunji watched the solid phantom and nodded with satisfaction. The Martial Soul inherited by the Zhu Family for generations was indeed of high quality. Judging by the solidity of this phantom, Zhu Yan's Martial Soul purity might even be a notch higher than her sister's!

"Alright, child, open your eyes."

Qian Xunji withdrew his soul power. Zhu Yan slowly opened her eyes; she could clearly feel a sharp, dark power residing within her.

"Is this my Martial Soul? How amazing..." Zhu Yan looked at her hands with curiosity.

"The Martial Soul is only the foundation. Let's check your Innate Soul Power."

Qian Xunji reached into his storage ring and produced a blue crystal ball used for testing soul power, handing it to Zhu Yan. "Come, place your hand on it and use your intent to channel the power within you into it."

Zhu Yan swallowed hard, nervously extending her slightly trembling hand to press it against the surface of the cold crystal ball.

"Hum—"

Almost the instant her palm made contact, the originally dull and lusterless blue crystal ball erupted with a dazzling blue radiance.

The light spread wildly within the crystal ball like ripples in water, occupying the vast majority of the sphere's space in the blink of an eye.

The eye-catching blue glow illuminated Zhu Yan's small face, making it appear translucent.

"This radiance..."

Qian Xunji's eyes lit up sharply, his spiritual power sweeping across the crystal ball in an instant.

"Innate Soul Power... level nine!"

A curve of extreme delight tugged at the corners of Qian Xunji's mouth.

Level nine.

Although it did not reach the monstrous level of Bibi Dong or Qian Renxue, one had to understand that Innate Full Soul Power was a privilege reserved only for the cheat-wielding protagonists or inheritors of godhood in the original records.

In the normal world of Spirit Masters, anyone with an Innate Soul Power exceeding level seven was already a genius fought over by every major sect.

An Innate level nine was absolutely the cream of the crop; as long as the resources kept up and she did not perish prematurely, she was guaranteed to become a Titled Douluo in the future.