Top 8: Zhu Zhuqing: Hell Spirit Cat, Cool and Abstinent, Exquisitely Beautiful!

At Godwind Academy, Feng Xiaotian slumped to the ground, his eyes vacant as he repeatedly muttered, "Why... why him..."

He had pursued Huo Wu for so many years and given so much, yet it could not compare to that man's selfless protection, a single unintentional gesture.

[Ah, another one... Is Tang San a beauty magnet?]

[Poor Feng Xiaotian, what a complete sucker.]

[Stop talking, I'm already looking forward to the next one! Sky Screen, hurry up! This beauty ranking is way more interesting than any strength ranking!]

[The guy above, something's wrong with you! But I love watching too!]

[It's here, it's here! Eighth place!]

[With this color scheme, she feels like she'll be a cold and aloof goddess?]

[Hurry up, hurry up, I can't wait any longer!]

The eyes of the entire continent were drawn in once more.

The image did not reveal a full figure at first. It began with an incredibly striking view from behind.

It was the back of a woman dressed in tight black leather, outlining her breathtaking curves to perfection. Above her slender, graspable waist rose her full, pert backside, and higher still was the smooth, graceful line of her back.

Just that single view from behind was enough to make countless people's blood surge.

She did not move. Simply standing there quietly, she exuded an icy aura that kept strangers at a distance.

The camera slowly turned, revealing from the side her figure, which could only be called devilish. Unlike Hu Liena's seductive charm or Huo Wu's fiery allure, hers was a sensuality laced with abstinence—an ultimate contradiction, an ultimate temptation.

Finally, the camera settled on her face.

It was a flawless oval face, her skin as white as snow, her features as exquisite as Heaven's most perfect creation. Yet her deep purple eyes held no emotion at all, like two bottomless icy springs that kept everyone a thousand miles away.

Her long black hair draped smoothly down her back, making her snowy complexion and cool temperament all the more striking.

She was like a cat walking alone through the dark night—elegant, proud, filled with mystery and danger.

[Douluo Continent's Top Ten Beauties Ranking · Top 8]

[Zhu Zhuqing]

[Identity: Shrek Academy student, Star Luo Empire noble.]

[Heaven's Will's verdict: Hell Spirit Cat, hellish rakshasa. Coolness as armor, peerless beauty as blade.]

[Holy crap! It's that little monster from Shrek! Zhu Zhuqing!]

[That figure... I'm done for! Can a human really have a body like that?]

[Eighth place is already this incredible? This ranking is seriously prestigious!]

[Boss Dai! Did you save the galaxy in your past life or something?!]

Shrek Academy's rest area instantly erupted.

The recovery sausage in Oscar's hand fell to the ground with a slap. His mouth hung open, and he was practically drooling. "Zhuqing, she... she's just too... too..."

He said "too" for half the day but could not find a suitable word to describe her.

Ma Hongjun rubbed his eyes hard and muttered, "I used to think Zhuqing was just cold. I never expected... seeing her on the Sky Screen would be this impactful."

Ning Rongrong proudly wrapped her arms around Zhu Zhuqing's arm beside her. "See? I told you! Our Zhuqing is the most beautiful!"

Yet Dai Mubai, at the center of all the discussion, wore an exceptionally complicated expression.

He stared at the cool, peerlessly beautiful figure on the Sky Screen. A flash of amazement and pride first crossed his eyes, but it was immediately replaced by deep worry and guilt. The hands resting on his knees had unknowingly clenched into fists, his knuckles white.

He knew the Sky Screen's review would never be something as simple as praising her beauty.

Sure enough, new words appeared beside Zhu Zhuqing's image.

[Zhu Zhuqing's obsession: Not for love, not for glory. Everything she did was for just one word—live.]

In an instant, the clamor of the entire continent came to a standstill.

Even the comment section fell briefly silent.

Live?

That word was a thousand times heavier than Hu Liena's "falling for someone she should not have loved" or Huo Wu's "losing her pride and heart."

[Live? What does that mean? Is someone trying to kill her?]

[Are you kidding? Who could bring themselves to hurt a beauty like her?]

[Wait, her identity is... Star Luo Empire nobility? I think I understand... the Star Luo Empire royal family's succession rules...]

[The more I think about it, the more terrifying it gets! Could this have something to do with Dai Mubai?]

Everyone's gaze shifted from Zhu Zhuqing to Dai Mubai's face, which was so gloomy it seemed ready to drip water.

Inside the Star Luo Empire's imperial palace.

Emperor Dai Tianming stared at that line on the Sky Screen, his face livid as his grip on the scepter in his hand made it creak.

A family scandal! This was an enormous family scandal!

Beside him, Crown Prince Dai Weisi wore a cruel sneer. "Live? Of course she has to struggle to survive. Unfortunately, she chose to follow that useless Dai Mubai. Her struggle is destined to be futile."

The Sky Screen did not give everyone much time to speculate.

The scene shifted, returning to several years earlier, outside Shrek Academy's dormitories.

The night was deep.

A slender black-clad girl blocked the path of a blond young man. Zhu Zhuqing had looked even more immature then, but the coldness and resolve in her eyes were no different.

Dai Mubai of that time was nowhere near as composed as he was now. He had two alluring women in his arms, reeked of alcohol, and had frivolity in his eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Dai Mubai in the image looked impatiently at the girl before him.

The girl's voice was as cold as ice. "Dai Mubai, have you forgotten your identity? Have you forgotten the fate hanging over us?"

"My sister has already been 'dealt with' by the family."

When Zhu Zhuqing said those words in the image, her voice did not waver in the slightest. Yet deep, bone-chilling fear and sorrow flashed through her purple eyes.

"According to the rules, as the loser in the battle for succession, she had her Soul Power crippled and was imprisoned forever. And I, as your fiancée, if our pair loses to your brother Dai Weisi in the final competition, my fate will only be worse than my sister's."

"Do you think I traveled all the way from Star Luo to Heaven Dou just to find you? I came to push you to cultivate!"

The girl's voice suddenly rose, carrying a tremor and despair she could no longer suppress.

"If we cannot gain enough strength to protect ourselves before the age of twenty-five, if we lose, we will both die!"

"Dai Mubai, has your degradation been meant to drag me down into hell with you?!"

They had imagined countless possibilities, but never had they imagined the truth would be so cruel and bloody.

What kind of noble marriage alliance was this? This was clearly a gamble of life and death, binding them to the same guillotine!

The atmosphere in Shrek Academy's rest area sank to freezing point.

The playful expressions on Oscar and Ma Hongjun's faces had long vanished, replaced by shock and fury. For the first time, they learned that Zhu Zhuqing, who usually spoke little and only cultivated desperately, bore such heavy shackles.

Tang San and Xiao Wu also frowned deeply, their gazes toward Zhu Zhuqing filled with sympathy and concern.

Ning Rongrong's hold on Zhu Zhuqing's arm tightened. She could feel her best friend's body trembling uncontrollably.

Zhu Zhuqing bit down hard on her lower lip, her face pale as paper.

The scar she least wanted anyone to touch, the vulnerability and fear she had desperately tried to hide, had been brutally torn open by the Sky Screen and exposed in broad daylight for everyone in the world to watch, sympathize with, and pity.

That feeling hurt more than killing her.

"Ah—!"

A roar filled with endless pain and fury burst from Dai Mubai's throat.

He slammed his fist into the ground, and the hard floor instantly cracked apart. His eyes were bloodshot as he stared fixedly at his own frivolous, dissolute appearance on the Sky Screen, his face filled with regret and self-reproach.

It was him. His failure to measure up back then had driven her into such desperation!

The Sky Screen's image continued, as if the knife had not yet been driven deep enough.

A cold annotation appeared at the end of the scene.

[Her fiancé was both her hope for glory and the blade hanging over her head.]

[Win, and they would ascend the throne together; lose, and they would descend into the underworld together.]

[So-called love was worth nothing in the face of survival.]

Dai Mubai's body shook violently. He abruptly raised his head and looked toward the figure who had kept her head lowered, trembling all over.

He opened his mouth, but his throat felt stuffed with cotton, and his voice came out hoarse beyond recognition. "Zhuqing, I..."