The Star Luo Empire's imperial palace.
The White Tiger Emperor sat on the dragon throne, his face dark as a storm cloud.
"Heaven Dou Empire... Heaven Dou Empire..."
"The host of a Soul Fighting Arena in Suotuo City is an eighty-ninth-level Soul Douluo... Does my Star Luo Empire truly have no worthy genius to make the list?"
At these words, the civil and military officials fell silent, trembling like cicadas in winter. Not a soul dared answer.
Crown Prince Dai Weisi stood below the throne, his expression equally grim.
The Star Luo Empire had always been renowned for its military strength, holding the upper hand in its centuries-long rivalry with the Heaven Dou Empire.
But now, the genius on the Sky Screen's ranking was from Heaven Dou. How could the proud Star Luo Imperial Family save face?
"Your Highness, the Crown Prince, there's no need to worry."
Seeing the oppressive atmosphere, one of Dai Weisi's trusted advisers hurried over and leaned close, ingratiating himself in a low voice. "A few geniuses emerging from a weak place like Heaven Dou is nothing but luck. Your Highness, you're the direct heir to the White Tiger Martial Soul. Across the younger generation on the entire continent, who could stand shoulder to shoulder with you? The top spot on the Genius Ranking is yours and yours alone!"
Another subordinate hurried to chime in. "Exactly! Your Highness's might is peerless. Those nobodies from Heaven Dou aren't fit to lace your boots! Once Your Highness makes the list, you'll show those Heaven Dou people what a true genius is!"
Listening to their flattery, the gloom on Dai Weisi's face began to lift.
Indeed, with his strength, claiming a spot on the Genius Ranking should be a piece of cake.
But just then—
BOOM!
Golden light gathered once more above the Sky Screen! A brand-new entry appeared in a flash!
[Genius Ranking, Fourteenth Place: Zhu Zhuyun.] [Identity: Eldest daughter of the Star Luo Empire's Zhu Family.] [Strength: Eighty-ninth-level Soul Douluo.] [Technique: Yin-Yang Reincarnation Technique.] [Reward: Soul Ascension Pill. Anyone below the Titled Douluo rank who takes it can advance by one major rank.]
The entire hall sank into deathly silence!
The confidence on Dai Weisi's face froze completely.
He stared wide-eyed at the name on the Sky Screen, unable to believe it: Zhu Zhuyun!
His fiancée!
The fiancée he had always thought was obedient and well-behaved, even a little frail!
An eighty-ninth-level Soul Douluo?
When had she become so strong? How could she possibly have become so strong?
The subordinates who had just been praising Dai Weisi to the skies now looked as if someone had clamped a hand over their throats. Awkwardness was written all over their faces, and they wished the ground would open up and swallow them.
On the dragon throne, the White Tiger Emperor's clouded expression suddenly cleared, and unprecedented delight burst across his face!
"Ha ha ha! Good! Excellent!"
The White Tiger Emperor smacked the armrest of the throne and sprang to his feet. His hearty laughter shook the entire hall.
Heaven bless Star Luo! At last, someone from my Star Luo Empire has made the list! And she's my future daughter-in-law—the eldest daughter of the Zhu Family!
He understood all too well what this ranking meant.
Fourteenth place! An eighty-ninth-level Soul Douluo! And she was a daughter of the Zhu Family!
It meant that the marriage alliance between the imperial family and the Zhu Family would gain a powerful pillar unlike any before!
When Zhu Zhuyun and Dai Weisi joined together in the future, with one wielding the White Tiger and the other the Hell Spirit Cat, just how terrifying would their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Hell White Tiger, become?
The Zhu Family residence, rear courtyard.
Compared to the liveliness of the imperial palace, the atmosphere here was entirely different.
The Zhu Family's patriarch, Zhu Kun, stood outside the courtyard. His usually stern face was now brimming with undisguised excitement and greed.
"Soul Ascension Pill... Anyone below the Titled Douluo rank can advance by one major rank..." Zhu Kun muttered, his eyes glinting. "That girl Zhuyun really kept her strength hidden! An eighty-ninth-level Soul Douluo! And she has a divine pill like this!"
He spun around and strode toward the depths of the rear courtyard, where Empress Zhu's chambers had been before she married.
He had to find his daughter, Zhu Zhuyun, at once!
On the one hand, his daughter making the list was cause for tremendous celebration. It meant the Zhu Family's standing in the empire would become even more secure.
On the other hand, he was determined to claim that Soul Ascension Pill!
With his current cultivation at level seventy-nine, taking it would let him leap straight to the eighty-ninth level and become a Soul Douluo!
Then his influence in the empire would reach unprecedented heights!
"Little sister! Your Majesty, the Empress!" Zhu Kun's voice rang out before he arrived. He pushed open the door and rushed inside. "Where's Zhuyun? Where is she? She made the list! Fourteenth on the Sky Screen's Genius Ranking! And there's a Soul Ascension Pill!"
Inside the chambers, Empress Zhu had just returned to her family home for a visit. She sat upright on a cushioned couch.
In her thirties, with a touch of mature allure at the corners of her eyes and lips, she was like a ripe peach—utterly captivating.
Hearing her elder brother's urgent voice, she merely lifted her eyes a little, a complicated trace of helplessness flickering in them.
The slender figure by the window, enveloped in a golden pillar of light, slowly turned around.
She wore a purple gown, and her jet-black hair fell like a waterfall. Her features were exquisitely beautiful, her skin fair, and her figure extremely voluptuous and striking, far beyond what one would expect for her age.
Yet there was no joy at making the list in her gentle eyes. Only a calmness tempered by the passage of time remained.
"Zhuyun!" Zhu Kun hurried forward, his face wreathed in smiles. "My good daughter! You've brought great honor to our Zhu Family! An eighty-ninth-level Soul Douluo! Even the Crown Prince falls short of you! I'm so—"
"Father wants to ask about the Soul Ascension Pill, doesn't he?" Zhu Zhuyun cut him off, her tone flat.
Zhu Kun's smile stiffened. He gave an awkward laugh. "Well... it's your reward, naturally it belongs to you. I'm only happy for you..."
"Happy?" Zhu Zhuyun shook her head gently. Disappointment finally surfaced in her calm eyes.
"Father, have you ever truly cared about me, from childhood until now? Have you ever cared what I liked or what I wanted?"
Zhu Kun was stunned.
Zhu Zhuyun slowly took a step forward. Her voice remained calm, yet carried an invisible pressure.
"You care about only one thing: whether I can marry into the imperial family, secure the Zhu Family's standing, and bring you and the Zhu Family more power and wealth."
"W-what are you saying?" Zhu Kun's expression changed. "The Zhu Family has joined with the imperial family through marriage for generations. It's an honor! Your mother went through the same thing. Wasn't it all for the family?"
"For the family?" Zhu Zhuyun smiled, but there was not a trace of warmth in it, only deep sorrow. "Did you ever ask Mother if she wanted it? Did you ever ask me if I wanted it?"
"And that goddamned competition rule—my younger sister is still wandering outside!"
She turned to look at Empress Zhu, who had sat silently on the couch the whole time. Tears glimmered faintly in the eyes of the dignified, elegant woman.
Her mother's reaction said everything.
She had been through it herself. More than anyone, she knew that a daughter of the Zhu Family had her fate decided from the moment she was born.
For the family, for marriage alliances, for a cage she could never escape.
"I won't walk this path anymore." Zhu Zhuyun's voice suddenly turned cold.
Zhu Kun's expression changed drastically. "Y-you... what did you say?!"
"I said," Zhu Zhuyun replied, each word deliberate, "I will no longer let you control me. My cultivation, my strength, my life... from now on, they belong to me alone."