The night breeze was cool, and the backstreet south of Heaven Dou City fell into an unprecedented hush.
The futuristic glass door of the Origin Internet Cafe was shut tight. Its holographic sign had dimmed, leaving only a countdown that read [Closed for Upgrades].
On the bluestone road outside the Internet Cafe,
Chen Xin, Ning Fengzhi, Dugu Bo, and the others had not left.
They stood beside a carriage not far away, watching the dark figure at the Internet Cafe's entrance with complicated expressions.
Zhu Zhuqing stood there quietly.
Her back was to the closed doors, and the night breeze stirred her long black hair.
Less than ten meters in front of her, Dai Mubai and Tang San leaned on each other for support, both in a sorry state.
"Zhu Qing..."
Dai Mubai looked at the fiancée who seemed at once familiar and strange.
Inside the Internet Cafe, Zhu Zhuqing had displayed speed so terrifying it seemed to stop time. It had crushed the last shred of pride he held as a Star Luo prince.
Now, looking at her, he felt fear from the depths of his soul.
But he could not let her go.
If he lost Zhu Zhuqing and the Hell White Tiger Martial Soul Fusion Skill, returning to the Star Luo Empire would mean certain death!
"Zhu Qing, come with me!" Dai Mubai forced a pleading smile. "That shady place is closed now! You have such incredible power. If we join forces and use our Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Dai Weisi won't stand a chance! We can return to the Star Luo Empire together and take back everything that belongs to us!"
As he spoke, Dai Mubai reached toward Zhu Zhuqing, hope in his eyes.
Only the cold night wind answered him, along with a pair of emotionless catlike eyes.
"Martial Soul Fusion Skill?"
Zhu Zhuqing's lips curled in mockery. Contempt for Dai Mubai showed plainly on her beautiful face.
"Dai Mubai, are you still clinging to that ridiculous dream?" Zhu Zhuqing slowly raised a hand and traced a line through the air with one slender finger.
Clang! A sharp metallic sound rang out.
She tossed a solid-gold token engraved with a majestic white tiger and a Hell Spirit Cat at Dai Mubai's feet.
It was the token of their betrothal, bestowed by the Star Luo Imperial Family!
"What... what is this supposed to mean?!" Dai Mubai stared at the token on the ground, dread washing over him.
"It's simple!"
Zhu Zhuqing looked at Dai Mubai, her voice cold.
"The Zhu Zhuqing who hoped with all her heart that you would pull yourself together died the day you abandoned me, fled to Suotuo City alone, and fooled around with those women in the filthy Rose Hotel."
"I crossed mountains and rivers to find you. All I got was your cowardly avoidance."
"And now, in this Internet Cafe, I've gained power through my own efforts, at a painful cost. Power that doesn't require me to depend on anyone."
"I, Zhu Zhuqing, declare our engagement over as of today."
"Dai Mubai, from this day on, every bond between us is severed. Just like this token, we're split in two!"
She was breaking off the engagement?!
On the Douluo Continent, a woman publicly breaking off her engagement to a man was almost unheard of!
And he was a prince of the Star Luo Empire, no less!
Not far away, Ning Fengzhi was stunned.
"What a fierce young woman! I'm afraid the Star Luo Imperial Family has just lost a peerless talent capable of upending the balance of the entire continent!"
"You bitch! How dare you humiliate me?!" Fury surged through Dai Mubai.
His blond hair flared out like a lion's mane!
"You think strapping on a few pieces of scrap metal means you can defy the laws of the Star Luo Empire?! White Tiger Possession!"
Dai Mubai let out a frenzied roar. Three Soul Rings lit up, and the enormous phantom of a white tiger formed behind him.
He compressed all his Soul Power to its limit and lunged straight at Zhu Zhuqing, slashing with razor-sharp tiger claws and murderous intent!
"Boss Dai, don't!" Tang San's face changed. He instinctively tried to stop him, but it was too late.
As the tiger claws closed in, pity appeared on Zhu Zhuqing's icy face.
"Your understanding of power is still so... backward."
Hummm—!!!
The energy fluctuation that made the scalps of every Titled Douluo present tingle descended once more!
Time stopped.
The night wind froze in midair. The ferocious white tiger phantom behind Dai Mubai looked as though someone had pressed pause.
His savage expression became absurd as the moment crawled by.
Whoosh!
A crisp sound cut through the stillness inside the time barrier.
She merely stepped aside, avoiding the tiger claws that moved at a snail's pace, then raised her palm with effortless grace.
Smack!
The barrier vanished.
That seemingly gentle slap sent Dai Mubai's burly body flying!
"Taken... taken down in one hit?!" Tang San's eyes widened in despair.
This was Dai Mubai with his Martial Soul Possession activated!
He had not even seen her move before she dropped Dai Mubai with a single slap?!
Was this the power of that terrifying "cyber Soul Bone" in the real world?!
"Zhu Qing... you..." Dai Mubai lay on the ground, clutching his swollen cheek, his eyes burning with humiliation.
Overwhelmed by shame and anger, the Star Luo prince struggled to his feet and let out a wretched howl:
"Zhu Zhuqing! Don't get too cocky!"
"Fortunes change with time! Never look down on a young man!!!"
That familiar cry of an underdog vowing to rise again echoed bitterly through the night.
But Zhu Zhuqing laughed in disdain when she heard it.
"Never look down on a young man?"
"Dai Mubai, have you confused cowardice with hardship? Your problem isn't that you lack power. It's that you're pitifully weak to the bone!"
"You ran from your responsibilities and gave up training. Now that you've seen how strong I've become, you come crawling back! That ridiculous pride of yours is worth less than a stray dog's!"
"Crawl back to Suotuo City! I don't need a good-for-nothing telling me what to do with my future."
With that, Zhu Zhuqing turned away coldly, her long black hair sweeping through the night breeze.
She did not look at Dai Mubai again as she walked into the darkness.
Dai Mubai was left alone on the cold bluestones, weeping with regret.
"Well, well. What a spectacular broken-engagement scene!" Not far away, Poison Douluo Dugu Bo stroked his beard with a gloating smile. "I like that girl's spirit! Yan Yan, you should learn to be as decisive as she is!"
"Grandpa, stop watching!" Dugu Yan tugged irritably at Dugu Bo's sleeve. "The Internet Cafe is closed for three days! How am I supposed to survive? Every time I close my eyes, I see homing bullets everywhere. I think I'm having serious withdrawal!"
Before you continue