Infiltrating the Zhu Residence

The night in Star Luo City is colder and more ruthless than in any city of the Heaven Dou Empire.

Moonlight, like a finely honed, icy broadsword, cuts diagonally across the sharp edges of the dark gray stone masonry, casting thick, ink-like shadows across the wide bluestone streets.

In this city that worships iron-blooded honor, even the wind seems to carry a faint scent of metallic rust. In the distance, the rhythmic, uniform footsteps of patrolling soldiers occasionally echo—the dull thuds of heavy metal boots striking the ground, mechanical and cold, like the breathing of some gargantuan war machine.

"Gu Yue, you and Xiao Wu stay at the hotel. This is the heart of Star Luo City, after all, so don't worry about my safety. If an emergency arises, Na'er and I will teleport back immediately." Gu Tian stands by the floor-to-ceiling window, his eyes reflecting the towering mansion in the distance, his tone indifferent.

"Rest assured, Young Master. The person who could harm Xiao Wu in this city hasn't been born yet." Gu Yue's expression is cold as she nods slightly, a flicker of dark green elemental radiance dancing on her hand.

"Brother Gu Tian, let's go!" Na'er wears a pristine white dress. Under the moonlight, her long silver hair flows with a faint, shimmering luster, as if she is draped in holy starlight.

The two exchange a nod. The next second, a subtle spatial rift opens silently in the center of the room. Gu Tian takes Na'er's cool, jade-like hand, and their figures instantly vanish into the void.

Zhu Residence.

As the supreme command headquarters of the Star Luo Empire's military and the second-ranked super-family, the scale of the Zhu Residence is astonishing. It is less a private residence and more a miniature fortress nestled in the heart of the bustling capital.

The entire Zhu Residence features a rare "concentric circle" defensive layout. The outermost perimeter is a ten-meter-high wall constructed from a mixture of basalt from the Dragon Flame Mountain Range, hard as iron. The top of the wall is lined with barbed, pointed spikes made of black iron, each coated in a potent poison capable of paralyzing a Soul Ancestor. Under the moonlight, this wall emits a chilling, ghostly glow.

Along this first line of defense, a watchtower stands every ten paces, manned by elite private soldiers wielding long-range heavy crossbows. Furthermore, Soul Masters tasked with sensing soul fluctuations patrol the walls. Relying on their Hell Spirit Cat martial souls, their eyes flicker with eerie green light in the darkness, monitoring for any unusual fluctuations in energy.

"The security is quite professional." Gu Tian and Na'er's figures glide through the cracks of the void. Looking down, they see several fully armed patrol squads weaving through the courtyards, moving without a sound, save for the faint clinking of armor plates.

The power structure of the Zhu Family is perfectly reflected in the architectural layout: from the outside in, the building materials become increasingly heavy, and the colors shift from gray to black. The outer ring houses the personal guards and extended relatives, while the middle ring contains the core family members and the massive intelligence processing hub. At the very center lies a castle surrounded by a deep, defensive moat.

There, even the air seems to have frozen solid.

"Brother Gu Tian, they've set up an array to interfere with spatial fluctuations, but in front of Na'er, these are all just flaws." Na'er's slender fingers trace a line through the void; like a hot knife through butter, she bypasses every sensing node.

The next second, the two have passed through layers of defense, descending directly into the shadows of the rafters above the central council hall of the Zhu Residence.

This council hall has an astonishing ceiling height, with twelve black stone pillars, each as thick as a man's embrace, supporting a dome. The pillars bear no ornate carvings; instead, they are draped with battle flags and shattered armor captured by the Zhu ancestors during the founding wars. Although brightly lit, the massive shadows cast upon the cold, hard floor make the atmosphere here suffocatingly oppressive.

Below, a tall, cold-faced middle-aged man stands with his hands behind his back. He wears a perfectly tailored black military uniform, the collar embroidered with a majestic spirit cat totem. Three golden stars on his epaulets flicker with a piercing, icy light under the candlelight, representing his status as the supreme commander of the Star Luo Empire's navy, army, and air force.

He is the current head of the Zhu Family and the Imperial Marshal commanding the three armies—Zhu Ganglie.

"Bang!"

Zhu Ganglie slams his hand heavily onto the Ten-Thousand-Year Iron-Strength Wood table in front of him. Under his palm, the hard timber cracks like fragile porcelain, splitting into several hideous fissures.

"That coward! That disgrace to the Imperial Family! That rat who fled the battlefield!" Due to his rage, Zhu Ganglie's voice is hoarse and trembling violently, every word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth. "Dai Mubai actually ran away! On the eve of the duel, when the reputation of two great families is being roasted over a fire, he actually climbed the wall and fled! I've searched the entire city, scoured every one of his hideouts outside the city, even turned over those filthy slums and dark sewers, and there is no trace of him!"

Below him, several Zhu Family elders, also in military uniforms with steady auras, have faces as dark as water.

One of the elders speaks in a deep voice, his words echoing through the vast hall: "Family Head, what is the Emperor's current stance? Two years ago, the Imperial Family issued a decree betrothing the eldest daughter, Zhu Yun, to the First Prince, Dai Weisi, and also set the marriage contract between the Third Prince, Dai Mubai, and Zhuqing. Now that Dai Mubai has disappeared, this is not just a scandal for the Dai Family; it shakes the very foundation of the Star Luo Empire."

At the mention of these two engagements, Zhu Ganglie's face turns even more livid, the veins on his forehead throbbing.

"Stance? That old madman, the Star Luo Emperor!" Zhu Ganglie turns around, a flash of extreme sorrow in his eyes. "He told me that the Dai Family's law of competition is a sacred decree established by the ancestors, an iron rule that cannot be changed. Even if Dai Mubai is nothing but a worthless piece of trash, as long as he could show weakness on the dueling stage and beg for mercy before Dai Weisi, even if he lost his right to succession, the Zhu and Dai families could keep him alive and ensure his lifelong prosperity."

Zhu Ganglie takes a deep breath, gritting his teeth as he spits out the news that could make Star Luo City tremble:

"But now, Dai Mubai has become a deserter! This is a supreme humiliation for the military! The Emperor just sent me a secret order: if Dai Mubai is not found within three months, or if it is confirmed that he has died out there... to uphold the sacred bloodline contract of the Imperial Family and prevent the leakage of royal blood, the fiancée, the Zhu Family's second young lady, Zhu Zhuqing... must follow the ancient law and be buried with him!"

Buried with him.

These words fall into Gu Tian's ears from the rafters like a needle soaked in ice water, piercing his nerves.

He lowers his head slightly, his gaze sweeping toward the darkest corner of the council hall. At the edge of the shadows cast by the massive stone pillars, he catches a trace of an extremely faint, yet profoundly isolated soul power fluctuation.

Zhu Zhuqing is clearly hiding in the dark, having heard her own father discuss the date of her death with rage in this cold, weapon-filled hall.

"To have a daughter sacrificed for the sake of a runaway piece of trash?" A nameless fire rises in Gu Tian's heart. He looks at the Imperial Marshal below, bound by the chains of honor, his eyes filled with disdain.

In this family twisted by distorted laws of survival, the walls of the Zhu Residence are not just defenses against enemies, but a prison for their own kin.

"To actually be able to sacrifice Zhuqing's life for such bullshit rules?" Gu Tian sneers in his heart. "Dai Mubai, since you chose to be a deserter, then Zhu Zhuqing... I, Gu Tian, will take her away myself."

Gu Tian turns to look at Na'er and finds that she is clutching his sleeve tightly, her eyes filled with sympathy and resonance for Zhu Zhuqing.

"Let's go, let's go meet her."

Gu Tian whispers in Na'er's ear, the corner of his mouth curling into a domineering and wicked arc.