"Valuable?"
Seeing Zhu Zhuqing carefully cradle the scroll, Xiao Yan couldn't help but chuckle. He casually waved a hand.
"In my Storage Ring, among the rewards from that lord of the Heavenly Palace, this thing is bottom of the barrel."
"Train hard. Once you've mastered the Nether Ghost Shadow Steps, if you do well, I might consider teaching you another Dou Technique."
This statement sent the entire Douluo Continent into an uproar.
Douluo Continent, Star Luo Empire.
The immense council hall inside the Star Luo Imperial Palace was so quiet that the sound of a pin dropping could be heard.
The civil and military officials knelt across the floor, not daring to breathe too loudly. Everyone secretly glanced toward the man seated on the pure-gold dragon throne: the Star Luo Emperor.
The Star Luo Emperor had none of his usual dignity or composure left.
He stared fixedly at the light screen floating in the center of the hall, gripping the throne's armrests so tightly that the solid-gold dragon heads were nearly twisted into knots.
His chest heaved, and his eyes were bloodshot.
Just moments ago, he had watched with his own eyes as his good-for-nothing son, Dai Mubai, wagged his tail like a dog and begged for half a useless pill.
Then he had watched Zhu Zhuqing, who should have become a daughter-in-law of the Star Luo Imperial Family, gain an unimaginable fortune simply by choosing the right side!
That was a high-level Xuan Tier Dou Technique!
Though they had no idea what Xuan Tier meant, the sight of Zhu Zhuqing splitting into three Residual Shadows after only getting a glimpse of its basics had left even the Titled Douluo present with their scalps tingling!
On a battlefield, that kind of movement technique would make her a reaper of lives!
And that breakfast was even more unbelievable. She ate meat from Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts as a meal?
And drank pills like tea?
"What sin, what sin have I committed?!"
At last, the Star Luo Emperor could no longer suppress his emotions. He shot to his feet and roared.
Then he kicked over the imperial desk before him, sending memorials scattering across the floor.
"Dai Mubai, that rebellious son! That good-for-nothing!"
"Such a heaven-defying opportunity should have belonged to our Star Luo Imperial Family! It should have strengthened the realm of my Dai Family!"
The Star Luo Emperor paced back and forth across the hall like a furious lion trapped in a cage.
Whenever he thought of Zhu Zhuqing's current strength and potential, then of the terrifying young man named Xiao Yan standing behind her and the unfathomable Heavenly Palace, his heart bled.
If only Dai Mubai had been a little more capable back then. If only he'd had even a fraction of Zhu Zhuqing's backbone—or a little sense—and managed to cling to Xiao Yan's coattails.
Then it would be the Star Luo Empire soaring to new heights!
"Your Majesty, please calm down—"
An elderly minister with white hair stepped forward unsteadily from below the stairs, his voice trembling. "The most urgent matter isn't blaming the Third Prince. We must find a way to win the Zhu Clan back!"
"Miss Zhu Zhuqing is now a favorite of Young Master Xiao, and a subordinate of the Heavenly Palace."
"If she bears a grudge against the Star Luo Empire—"
The old minister didn't finish, but everyone understood his meaning.
If Zhu Zhuqing returned one day bearing divine skills, with her current resources and rate of growth—and that oath to purge her family—what could the Star Luo Imperial Family use to stop her?
Their heads?
Hearing this, the Star Luo Emperor abruptly stopped pacing and fixed his gaze on the head of the Zhu Clan, who stood at the front of the military officials, looking conflicted, excited and apprehensive all at once.
The enraged emperor's face twisted into a smile more painful to look at than tears.
"Minister Zhu! Quick, rise! Rise!"
The Star Luo Emperor didn't even bother with imperial dignity. He rushed down the stairs and grabbed the head of the Zhu Clan by the arm.
"My dear Minister Zhu, you've raised an excellent daughter!"
"I've always said that Zhuqing has extraordinary bones and is a phoenix among men, destined for greatness!"
"Now I see I was right!"
The head of the Zhu Clan stiffened, cold sweat running down his back.
He thought, Your Majesty, that isn't what you said before.
But all he could do now was smile along. "Your Majesty is too kind. My daughter was simply fortunate."
"Fortunate? This is strength! This is vision!"
The Star Luo Emperor cut him off with a wave of his hand. Then his expression turned solemn, and he issued a loud decree before all the court officials.
"Pass down my decree!"
"The Zhu Clan has raised their daughter well and rendered great service to the empire!"
"From this day on, the Zhu Clan is named the empire's foremost guardian clan, exempt from bowing before the emperor!"
"In addition, send the Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue treasured in the imperial treasury, along with that eight-thousand-year-old ginseng, straight to the Zhu residence! Let Lady Zhu replenish her health!"
"Minister Zhu, from now on, our two families must become even closer!"
"If Zhuqing sends back a letter, or needs any hometown specialties, you must tell me at once!"
As he looked at the obsequious emperor before him, the head of the Zhu Clan felt flattered, but an unprecedented sense of superiority welled up inside him too.
Was this what they meant by one person attaining the Dao, and even the chickens and dogs ascending to heaven?
His daughter had merely become a guard in that other world, yet even the emperor had to act according to his wishes?
That world was the best!
Meanwhile, in Spirit Hall.
With Bibi Dong gone from the Pope Palace, the remaining Cardinals and Platinum Bishops sat around a round table, their faces pale as death, as though mourning the loss of their parents.
Before them, the light screen replayed the moment Zhu Zhuqing used the Nether Ghost Shadow Steps again and again.
"Too fast. Far too fast—"
A Platinum Bishop in charge of intelligence spoke with a voice as dry as sand. "Frame-by-frame analysis by the technical department shows that when Zhu Zhuqing used that Dou Technique, her burst speed reached three times the speed of sound!"
"And she didn't use a single Soul Ring skill!"
"She relied only on that so-called Dou Qi and the footwork from that scroll!"
"And this is only a high-level Xuan Tier technique? According to Xiao Yan, this is just bottom-of-the-barrel stuff?"
"If she masters it, even a Titled Douluo might not be able to touch the hem of her clothes, right?"
Those words struck everyone's hearts like a heavy hammer.
Spirit Hall had ruled the Soul Master World through its monopoly on Soul Skills and its accumulation of Spirit Bones.
But now, a mere book tossed out casually by someone else was more powerful than the Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone skills they treasured!
"And those pills—"
Another bishop pointed at the bowl of Spirit Porridge Zhu Zhuqing had left behind. Greed filled his eyes as he said, "The energy in a single breakfast is equivalent to what a Soul Ancestor would gain from a month of arduous cultivation."
"Everyone, have you considered this?"
"If that Xiao Clan, or that Heavenly Palace, really has an unlimited supply of these resources, as they claim—"
"Then all it would take is a year! Just one year!"
"That Zhu Zhuqing could be forcibly built up from a Soul Grandmaster into a Titled Douluo!"
"Or even—surpass a Titled Douluo!"
"When that happens, what can Spirit Hall use to fight them?"
"Angel Divine Light? Or these old bones of ours?"
At that moment, everyone realized a terrifying truth.
The cultivation system that Douluo Continent had always prided itself on was utterly outmatched by the other world's overwhelming resources. It was like taking broadswords and spears into a fight against machine guns.
"Shouldn't we do something too?"
A young bishop timidly spoke from the corner. "Since Zhu Zhuqing could join them, why can't we?"
"Though our pope is gone, our saintess has turned evil, and our elders have been taken away to compost, we still have plenty of people!"
"What if we prayed to the Sky Screen too, or even pledged ourselves to them?"
"Even if we had to go to the Xiao Clan and sweep the floors, wouldn't we at least get to eat that Spirit Porridge?"
The idea took root in everyone's hearts and spread like weeds.
Faith?
Angel's Glory?
Give me a break!
When faced with real benefits—and meat from Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts served without limit—who would cling to that broken statue that only cracked open and shed bloody tears?
A few bishops had already begun secretly considering whether they should pack up what little remained in Spirit Hall's treasury and offer it as a pledge of loyalty, just in case the Sky Screen chose them someday.
Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, council hall.
"Crash!"
That was the eighth top-grade jade cup Ning Fengzhi had smashed today.
But he no longer cared. Even a cup worth a fortune was nothing but a pile of meaningless stones to him now.
Ning Fengzhi slumped on the sect master's throne, looking as if he'd aged twenty years.
His once-refined face was now filled with dejection and jealousy.
He stared fixedly at the scroll of Nether Ghost Shadow Steps in Zhu Zhuqing's hands on the light screen.
"High-level Xuan Tier, given away casually."
"Bottom-of-the-barrel stuff."
Ning Fengzhi let out a bitter laugh and turned to look around the empty hall.
Uncle Sword was gone, and his daughter had gone off to be a pet.
Now even the title of the world's richest, something he had always been proud of, had been trampled underfoot by Xiao Yan calling it bottom-of-the-barrel.
"Our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect could spend a million Gold Soul Coins and incur countless favors just to collect a single Self-Created Soul Skill."
"We could exhaust countless rare medicinal herbs just to raise our sect disciples' Soul Power by one level."
"But just look at them!"
Ning Fengzhi pointed at the light screen, his finger trembling violently, his voice hoarse. "Their guard! A mere servant who's only just begun!"
"She eats spirit herbs we wouldn't even dare dream of! She trains in divine skills we've never even seen!"
"And they're given away for free! There's an unlimited supply!"
"What an unjust world this is!"
Why Zhu Zhuqing?
Why couldn't it have been his Rongrong?
In terms of talent and background, what did the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect lack compared to the Star Luo Imperial Family?
And in terms of looks, Rongrong was no less beautiful than Zhu Zhuqing!
"If Rongrong hadn't been sent to that Great Gan Dynasty."
"If Rongrong had met a master like Xiao Yan."
"Even if she'd had to serve as Xiao Yan's maid."
"As long as she could eat a bowl of that Spirit Porridge, as long as she could learn even one or two moves—"
"My Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect could break the curse that auxiliary-type Soul Masters can't fight!"
"One wrong step, and every step after was wrong—"
Ning Fengzhi looked at Zhu Zhuqing, brimming with confidence on the light screen, then thought of his own daughter in the harem, scratched in the face by a cat and still forced to give thanks.
"Pfft."
A breath of pent-up anguish struck Ning Fengzhi's heart, and he fainted again.
Divine Realm, the committee chambers.
Unlike the despair and shock below, the Douluo God Realm was wreathed in clouds and radiant with gold and jade. It was filled with an air of lofty superiority.
Around the round table sat all five enforcers.
Poseidon, dressed in blue armor, looked at the scene on the Sky Screen with a disdainful smirk.
"Hmph. A bunch of ants from the lower world. They really haven't seen much of the world."
Poseidon swirled the wine in his glass, his tone full of contempt. "They're so frightened by food with a slightly higher energy content and a few somewhat more refined techniques for mortals?"
"That so-called Nether Ghost Shadow Steps looks flashy, but under my divine sense's lock, it would have nowhere to—"
"hide."
Asura God beside him wore a cold expression and gave a slight nod. "The energy inside that Xiao Yan is mixed and impure. Though it seems to have powerful explosive force, it hasn't been tempered by the laws."
"That so-called Dou Qi is nothing but low-grade brute force."
"Without a divine seat or divine rings, he is ultimately just a mortal."
God of Destruction let out a cold snort, purple destructive energy swirling around him. "What I can't stand most is that Heavenly Palace, making a show of its mystique."
"What cultivation method? What lack of bottlenecks?"
"Arrogant nonsense!"
"On the path of cultivation, laws come first. Their realms, built by devouring flames and piling on pills, have unstable foundations and would crumble at a touch."
"If I descended into that world—"
God of Destruction clenched his fist, a trace of arrogance flashing in his eyes. "I would need only a single Destruction Divine Thunder to reduce that Xiao Clan to ashes!"
"As for that Lord of the Heavenly Palace—"
God of Evil curled his lips in amusement. "He's probably just a false god who's only barely touched the threshold of the laws."
"He can throw his weight around in that world because it has no real gods."
"When the barriers of the Divine Realm open one day, I'd like to pay him a visit."
"I'll show him what it means for divine might to descend like a prison!"
The gods exchanged smiles, their laughter brimming with contempt for the Battle Through the Heavens Plane.
In their eyes, the Battle Qi Continent was nothing but a savage wasteland with a slightly higher level of energy.
The people there knew nothing of laws or divine seats; all they knew was how to throw crude blasts of energy back and forth.
Meanwhile, in the Xiao Clan's backyard.
Beside the iron cage.
Zhu Zhuqing put away the scroll but didn't leave right away.
Holding the bowl of unfinished Purple Ginseng Spirit Porridge, she slowly walked up to the iron cage.
Dai Mubai caught the enticing aroma. Looking at his stunning fiancée just inches away, a glimmer of hope ignited in his eyes.
"Zhuqing, did you come to see me?"
"I knew you still cared about me—"
"Could I have a sip of that porridge? Just one! I'm starving to death!"
Dai Mubai reached out with his filthy hand, trying to grab the bowl.
But Zhu Zhuqing only looked at him coldly, her eyes utterly unruffled.
Clatter!
Then she flipped her wrist.
The Purple Ginseng Spirit Porridge, worth a fortune and enough to let a Soul Elder break through by an entire level, spilled onto the ground outside the cage!
"Want to eat?"
Zhu Zhuqing's voice was icy. "Then lick it up."
Before you continue