An Encounter with Zhu Zhuqing

Two months later, a thunderous roar of cheers erupted inside the Great Soul Arena in Star Luo City.

"Congratulations to contestant Mo Ran Qianyuan on yet another victory! This is already his forty-ninth consecutive win. I wonder if we'll have the honor of witnessing the first fifty-win streak in the history of our Great Soul Arena!" As the host made the announcement, the cheers in the arena rose another level.

Lu Shiyuan wasn't very interested in such dazzling moments, and his current condition was far from good.

The opponent he faced today was a Soul King who had reached Level 55, with the optimal Soul Ring configuration to boot.

His opponent's Martial Soul was a Black-Armored Brute Bull, possessing astonishing offensive and defensive attributes.

With fewer Soul Skills than his opponent and a Soul Power Level far inferior to the enemy's, Lu Shiyuan had ultimately relied on his ability to control time and used every means at his disposal to painstakingly secure the victory.

The match lasted a full fifteen minutes. The continuous output of Soul Power had left Lu Shiyuan completely exhausted.

Both of his Soul Rings were Thousand-Year Soul Rings, so the cost of releasing his skills was far lower than that of Hundred-Year Soul Rings. Even so, he had been dragged to the brink and nearly lost because he ran out of Soul Power.

Fortunately, he had secured the victory despite the danger. Otherwise, if he had collapsed right before completing the mission, he would have had to start counting his winning streak all over again. Lu Shiyuan would have been utterly depressed.

At a pace of one match a day, five months had already passed. Lu Shiyuan should have completed his fifty-win streak long ago.

However, as his winning streak continued to grow, the opponents he encountered also became stronger. The battles had gone from overwhelming victories at the beginning, to evenly matched fights later on, and finally to scraping out victories from the jaws of defeat.

Especially after his fortieth consecutive win, he needed quite a long time to recover after every battle.

Yun Qingluo could heal his physical injuries, but his mental fatigue could only be left to time.

In just a few short months, Lu Shiyuan had gone from an unknown nobody in the Great Soul Arena of Star Luo City to a superstar feared and respected by everyone.

Whenever he had a match, the arena was sure to be packed, with tickets impossible to obtain.

Xiao Wu was just as famous. Xiao Wu, known by the nickname Moon Rabbit, had achieved forty-three consecutive wins in 1v1 matches, while the pair had also achieved thirty consecutive wins in 2v2 matches.

Unfortunately, Xiao Wu's Martial Soul was still inferior to Lu Shiyuan's, and she also lacked a Soul Bone.

Despite having one more skill than Lu Shiyuan, she had still lost when facing a Level 48 Soul Ancestor.

Their 2v2 matches were also forced to stop as the difficulty continued to rise. Lu Shiyuan had to give one hundred percent just to fight a single match, leaving him with no energy to handle 2v2 battles as well.

Fortunately, Xiao Wu had fought to her heart's content during this period, and both of their Soul Fighter levels had long since risen to Purple-Gold Level.

The long-term, high-intensity battles had also allowed Xiao Wu's Soul Power to break through to Level 36.

Although she had only advanced by one level, the density of her Soul Power was worlds apart from a few months ago.

After the match ended, Yun Qingluo supported Lu Shiyuan as they left the Great Soul Arena.

Seeing his pale complexion, Yun Qingluo anxiously released a healing Soul Skill to help Lu Shiyuan recover his strength.

Only after several minutes did his complexion improve somewhat.

"Sis Qingluo, let's leave it at that for now. We'll talk after we get back." Yun Qingluo was, after all, a Titled Douluo. Summoning her Martial Soul on the street would be far too shocking.

Quite a few gazes were currently focused on him, and several nobles and high-ranking officials of the Star Luo Empire had invited him more than once.

They were willing to offer him money or women—as long as Lu Shiyuan was willing to join their families.

A nine-year-old Level 30 Quasi-Soul Elder who could even defeat Soul Kings across levels was a genius one could encounter only by chance.

If people learned that a Titled Douluo was also by his side, he would probably attract even more attention.

Yun Qingluo nodded without saying anything more and supported Lu Shiyuan toward the hotel.

The two of them were not walking quickly. As they passed through an alley, they happened to run into a girl head-on.

The girl was walking quickly with her head lowered and hadn't noticed what was ahead at all. She crashed straight into Lu Shiyuan's arms.

Lu Shiyuan grimaced in pain. His body still bore the wounds from the recent Soul battle, and the sudden impact nearly knocked the breath out of him.

"Sorry." The girl who had bumped into him apologized repeatedly. Lu Shiyuan sucked in a breath of cold air and looked at her.

Huh, isn't this Zhu Zhuqing when she was little?

Why are there still scars on her face?

Could I have caused them when I bumped into her just now?

Bah, what do you mean, I bumped into her? I'm obviously the one who got bumped into, okay?

After this brief delay, hurried, disordered footsteps rang out behind Zhu Zhuqing.

A moment later, several guards dressed in black appeared behind her.

"Second Miss, please come back with us!" The leading guard spoke in a hoarse voice, and his attitude could hardly be called respectful.

Anyone who didn't know the situation might have thought Zhu Zhuqing was a maid and he was the master.

A guarded look appeared on Zhu Zhuqing's face. "You should know that you can't lay a hand on me before I come of age!"

"This subordinate knows. Therefore, this subordinate merely wishes to invite Second Miss back to the estate." The guard's gaze was stern and wary as he looked at Lu Shiyuan and Yun Qingluo behind Zhu Zhuqing.

Zhu Zhuqing also noticed the guard's reaction. She shifted her feet slightly and stood in front of Lu Shiyuan.

She had already bumped into someone just now. If she dragged Lu Shiyuan into this needless trouble as well, she would feel guilty.

"Don't drag innocent people into this!"

Lu Shiyuan was stunned. This girl is barely able to protect herself, yet she still has the time to worry about us?

He knew about the affairs of the Zhu Family in the Star Luo Empire. Zhu Zhuyun had probably already begun making moves against her younger sister.

Even if she couldn't do so openly, there was nothing wrong with making some covert, underhanded moves.

Based on their ages, Zhu Zhuqing should be a few months younger than him, and no more than a year at most.

In other words, Zhu Zhuqing was already seven years old and had awakened her Martial Soul last year.

Zhu Zhuqing's aptitude was poor only when compared with the other members of the Shrek Seven Monsters.

Compared with Zhu Zhuyun, Zhu Zhuqing's aptitude was already enough to make her envious.

The Star Luo Empire's brutal system for selecting an heir had doomed these sisters to become opponents.

To prevent her younger sister from growing up, Zhu Zhuyun had used various means to suppress her both openly and covertly ever since Zhu Zhuqing awakened her Martial Soul, striving to delay the speed of her growth.

Zhu Zhuqing could be said to have suffered unbearably over the past year.

At this time, Dai Mubai had not yet fled the Star Luo Empire, but his cowardly nature meant that he could only pretend not to see any of this.

After all, his own life was already a complete mess. Dai Weisi was six years older than him, which meant he was a full nine years older than Zhu Zhuqing.

In other words, Dai Weisi was already sixteen this year, and his Soul Power had probably already broken through to the level of a Soul Grandmaster.

Dai Mubai was only ten years old. Being able to protect himself was already asking enough of him. How could he have the time to care whether Zhu Zhuqing lived or died?

Besides, if he truly cared about Zhu Zhuqing, how could he flee the Star Luo Empire two years later and hide alone in Suotuo City of the Balak Kingdom to indulge in pleasure?

Zhu Zhuqing bit her lip stubbornly. No matter how unwilling she was, she could only glance at Lu Shiyuan before choosing to compromise.

Her personality made it impossible for her to drag innocent people into this. No matter how miserable her own life became, she would never implicate others.

With her personality, she would probably train even more frantically every time she suffered a setback, hoping to gain enough strength.

Lu Shiyuan felt a little wistful. What a stubborn little kitten.

What a pity. How did she end up meeting that piece of trash, Dai Mubai?