Seeing that Tang Yu had agreed, Zhu Zhuqing didn't dare disobey.
She took a deep breath and quickly composed herself, her gaze instantly turning focused.
Soul Power erupted, and a Soul Ring appeared beneath her feet.
"First Soul Skill, Hell Stab!"
In an instant, Zhu Zhuqing's figure transformed into a black afterimage.
She moved incredibly fast, accompanied by a sharp whistle that tore through the air. The claws at her fingertips carved ten icy black streaks through the air.
The attack was powerful, and her movements were crisp and decisive.
Watching from the sidelines, Zhu Zhuyun was startled.
She could clearly feel a real threat.
When had this girl become so strong?
If they met on a real battlefield, even with her advantage in Soul Power, Zhu Zhuyun would likely find her quite troublesome.
Yet faced with this imposing attack, Tang Yu merely furrowed his brow slightly, then shook his head without mercy.
"Boring. Rigid."
Tang Yu's criticism was merciless.
"Whoever taught you must have had a head full of useless theories."
"You follow the steps with this move. It looks powerful, but it's riddled with openings."
"If this were a real fight to the death, your single-minded approach would fall apart at the first touch."
His words left Zhu Zhuqing standing there, stunned.
She had trained hard ever since she was little and had even been hailed as a genius at Shrek Academy. She had never received such sweeping condemnation.
Tang Yu didn't give her time to think. He simply beckoned her with a finger.
"Stop practicing on empty air."
"Attack me directly."
Zhu Zhuqing's eyes flashed with surprise, but then the stubbornness in her bones surged forth.
She gritted her teeth and didn't hesitate again.
She unleashed all the Soul Power in her body and charged straight at Tang Yu with ferocious momentum.
Her claws aimed directly for his throat.
Just as her sharp cat claws were about to touch Tang Yu's skin,
Tang Yu didn't even raise a hand. He merely tapped the ground lightly with his toes and slid half a step diagonally backward with ease.
Zhu Zhuqing's all-out attack hit nothing but air.
Off balance, she had no time to rein in her momentum. She pitched forward awkwardly and crashed onto the flagstones with a thud.
A searing pain shot through her knees and elbows.
Tang Yu looked down at her.
"Your moves are as stiff as they come."
"If we'd been on a battlefield just now, you'd already be a corpse."
"Your brain's a useful thing. Combat isn't about charging forward with your eyes shut. Use your head."
The condescending reprimand stoked Zhu Zhuqing's competitive spirit.
She sprang to her feet and, without saying a word, launched another flurry of fierce attacks at Tang Yu.
Hell Hundred Claws!
A sea of claw shadows swept toward the vital points around Tang Yu's body.
But no matter how hard Zhu Zhuqing pushed her Soul Power, no matter how fast she moved,
her opponent always seemed to be strolling leisurely through a back garden.
Every time, she missed his clothes by no more than an almost imperceptible half inch.
Zhu Zhuqing felt like a child who had just learned to walk, throwing punches wildly at a strong adult.
That helplessness, unlike anything she'd ever felt before, cut deep into her nerves.
After a long while,
the Soul Power in Zhu Zhuqing's body ran dry. She braced her hands on her knees and panted heavily, sweat streaming down her cheeks and dripping onto the flagstones.
Seeing her utterly exhausted, Tang Yu shook his head without saying a word and turned to leave the courtyard.
Zhu Zhuqing watched him go, her heart full of resentment and her eyes reddening.
Zhu Zhuyun came over and handed her a towel.
"Tell me honestly. When did you get so strong?"
Zhu Zhuqing didn't take the towel. She merely raised her head, her eyes gleaming with the understanding of someone who had broken free from a cocoon.
"Strong?"
"Today, I finally realized what I truly want to learn."
"Everything I learned at Shrek Academy before was nothing but useless showmanship. I might as well have learned it all from a dog."
Over the following days,
this small courtyard became Zhu Zhuqing's private training ground.
Tang Yu would occasionally set aside time to personally guide her cultivation.
There was no useless theoretical talk—he pointed out her fatal flaws in hard-hitting, practical combat.
Under this high-pressure training, Zhu Zhuqing's combat ability and method of circulating Soul Power advanced by leaps and bounds.
She abandoned all her old, unnecessary movements, making every strike more lethal and efficient.
The clear sense that she was growing stronger filled her with incomparable exhilaration.
It was a wonderful experience she had never known at the Star Luo Empire or Shrek Academy.
At dusk that day,
the high-intensity training finally came to an end.
Zhu Zhuqing wiped the fragrant sweat from her forehead and excitedly ran over to Tang Yu.
But Tang Yu raised a hand and cut her off.
"Tonight."
"Come to my room."
The excited smile froze on Zhu Zhuqing's face.
She stood rooted to the spot, as if struck by a spell.
In the pure joy of training these past few days, she had almost forgotten her true predicament.
One sentence from Tang Yu dragged her cruelly back to reality.
At last, she remembered who she was: the spoils of war belonging to this man.
Time flew, and night soon fell over Wuyang Marquis Mansion.
Outside the master bedroom,
Zhu Zhuqing stood quietly at the foot of the steps.
She still wore her signature black leather outfit, its tight fit accentuating her breathtaking figure.
In particular, her long, straight legs, wrapped tightly in black stockings, possessed an extreme beauty and allure enough to drive any man wild.
The night breeze stirred, and her slender shoulders trembled slightly.
Her beautiful eyes were full of conflict and hesitation.
She stood outside the door for a full incense stick's worth of time.
At last, Zhu Zhuqing took a deep breath and bit down hard on her lip. Resolve flashed in her eyes.
She raised her hand and pressed it against the heavy wooden door.
With a forceful push, she stepped inside.
With a muffled sound, the heavy door closed firmly behind her.
The room was dim, lit only by a few gently flickering candles.
Zhu Zhuqing looked up and saw Tang Yu sitting casually on the edge of the bed.
The man didn't even glance at her. He merely raised a hand and beckoned to her nonchalantly.
"Come here."
"Sit down."
The two simple commands carried an oppressive force that made resistance seem impossible.
Zhu Zhuqing stood in place, her expression utterly conflicted.
During the past few days of intense training in the courtyard, Tang Yu had focused on pointing out her flaws and taught her so much.
The sheer process of growing stronger had even made her forget, in certain moments, who this man really was.
But now, in this dim, enclosed room, that suffocating pressure surged over her again like a tide.
She clearly remembered that the young man sitting by the bed was no patient mentor.
He was a god of slaughter who had butchered countless people on the battlefield, an absolute tyrant who had the Star Luo Imperial Family gasping for breath.
No one dared provoke this man.