"Open your mouth." Su Chen's voice was low and calm.
Zhu Zhuqing struggled to lift her frost-covered lashes. Looking at the composed young man in white before her, she parted her full lips slightly. Wrapped in pure yang dragon aura, the drop of pure gold dragon marrow became a slender streak of golden light and slipped into her mouth.
The dragon marrow did not bring the violent, body-consuming fire she had imagined. Instead, a warm, mellow sweetness spread across her tongue.
But that warmth lasted less than a single breath!
Boom...!
An utterly yang, unyielding primal essence from the Primordial Chaos Ancestral Dragon suddenly exploded in her abdomen! The fiercely domineering heat was like an ancient dragon awakening in fury, charging wildly through Zhu Zhuqing's meridians with unstoppable force!
"Ngh...!!"
Zhu Zhuqing's body abruptly arched, a muffled cry of pain escaping her throat.
The extreme yin cold toxin that had accumulated inside her for over a decade sensed this pure yang aura, its natural nemesis, and instinctively launched a frenzied counterattack.
The two extreme energies, one cold and one hot, collided violently within the girl's delicate meridians. Tearing agony sent spasms through her entire body, making her feel as though she would split apart.
"Keep your mind steady."
Su Chen swung himself onto the couch and sat cross-legged behind Zhu Zhuqing. His long, warm hands pressed directly against her slender, icy back.
A hum rang out... The Ancestral Dragon Hegemony Body Art circulated at full speed within him, and his newly formed ten-thousand-year fourth soul ring shone with domineering light inside the secluded chamber.
Vast pure yang dragon emperor aura surged through his palms like a tide, flooding Zhu Zhuqing's limbs and every part of her body!
Guided by the divine cultivation art and his powerful spiritual strength, the rampaging pure yang dragon marrow was instantly subdued. It became gentle golden streams, advancing inch by inch along Zhu Zhuqing's damaged meridians throughout her body.
The extreme yin cold dissolved and scattered as soon as it touched the pure yang dragon aura, like ice and snow beneath a blazing sun. The old injuries and stagnant toxins clogging her meridians were forcibly driven from her marrow by the utmost yang dragon qi, as easily as snapping rotten wood!
Hiss, hiss, hiss...! Wisps of murky black-purple vapor kept seeping out of her body.
The girl's exquisite face, previously drawn almost to the point of distortion, gradually relaxed as the cleansing remade her from within.
But the dragon marrow's power went far beyond expelling poison and healing injuries.
Under the constant nourishment of pure yang dragon qi, Zhu Zhuqing's once-narrow meridians were forcibly widened to nearly twice their former size! A translucent dark-gold sheen coated their inner walls, and their resilience increased by far more than a few times!
An even more astonishing transformation occurred deep within the core of her martial soul.
Roar...!
An ethereal yet profoundly majestic dragon's cry faintly resounded from within Zhu Zhuqing.
Once the dragon marrow had completely merged into her marrow and blood, the phantom of a pitch-black Hell Spirit Cat with differently colored eyes slowly materialized behind her!
The Hell Spirit Cat phantom let out a high, clear cry. The wavering green light surrounding it began to collapse and reconstruct itself wildly!
Ancient, noble patterns of dark-gold dragon scales quietly spread over its black fur. Its long, sharp claws shed their pallid color, becoming razor-edged dragon claws that looked as though they had been cast from dark-gold divine iron!
A beneficial martial soul transformation... the Nether Shadow Dragon Cat!
Not only did it retain the Hell Spirit Cat's silent, supremely elusive assassin's speed, it also gained the Primordial Ancestral Dragon's distinctive armor-piercing defense and domineering pure yang force!
From then on, the protective aura of ordinary defense-type soul masters at her level would be no more than thin paper before her, unable to withstand a single blow.
Boom...!
As her martial soul completed its transformation, the soul power that had long lain dormant within Zhu Zhuqing surged wildly, like a flood bursting through a dam!
Level twenty-seven... level twenty-eight... level twenty-nine!
Rich, deep-yellow light pulsed fiercely around her as her soul power rose without any resistance, reaching the fully perfected peak of level twenty-nine!
Whew... The final trace of extreme yin cold toxin was burned completely into nothingness. Su Chen released a long breath of stale air and lifted his palms from Zhu Zhuqing's back. The pure yang dragon aura surging around him returned to his body like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea.
On the cushioned couch, Zhu Zhuqing's long lashes trembled slightly before she slowly opened her eyes.
Her feline eyes, once filled with coldness and lifeless gloom, were now clear as autumn waters, with a subtle, wondrous dark-gold gleam flowing in their depths.
She looked down at her hands, now even fairer and more delicate yet brimming with astonishing explosive strength. Feeling the abundant, powerful soul power rushing within her like a great river, she fell into a daze unlike anything she had ever experienced.
The extreme yin cold toxin that had tormented her for twelve whole years was completely gone.
The hidden injuries and exhaustion branded deep into her meridians by her family's brutal competition had vanished without a trace.
Even the martial soul she took such pride in had broken the shackles of destiny that had bound the Hell Spirit Cat lineage for a thousand years!
All of this... had been bestowed upon her by the young man before her.
Zhu Zhuqing slowly turned around. The gentle glow of the chamber's moonstones fell across Su Chen's handsome, godlike face. His white clothes outshone snow, and his eyes were as deep as a sea of stars.
He merely sat there calmly, yet the composure and majesty naturally flowing from him were enough to eclipse everything beneath heaven.
Recalling Dai Mubai, who had fled alone to the Heaven Dou Empire and willingly sunk into a life of drinking and debauchery, Zhu Zhuqing felt the last lingering thread of entanglement and uncertainty over her destiny sever completely.
The so-called imperial marriage alliance and the destiny of the Hell White Tiger were nothing but laughable ropes binding her own hands before absolute strength.
A crystalline mist gathered in Zhu Zhuqing's eyes. Yet on her beautiful, cool face, the ice that had remained frozen for over a decade melted entirely, revealing a rare tenderness and resolve.
She lifted the brocade quilt covering her and sat cross-legged on the cushioned couch, her movements gentle yet impeccably dignified.
Having just undergone the marrow cleansing, her leather clothes were somewhat disheveled, outlining breathtaking curves. The girl paid them no heed, merely tilting up her flawless face and gazing intently at the young man in white within arm's reach.
"My life belongs to you, young master."
Zhu Zhuqing's voice remained as clear and cool as spring water.
"From this day onward, Zhu Zhuqing is no longer a discarded pawn of the Star Luo Empire, nor anyone's fiancée. I am only your blade, young master. Wherever your gaze falls, my edge will follow."
As she spoke, she extended her slender, jade-like hands and gently laid them over the back of Su Chen's right hand, which rested on his knee.
Her palms were warm and soft, trembling slightly with her first display of a young woman's affection, yet she refused to loosen her hold in the slightest.
This was the Hell Spirit Cat clan's most sacred, most resolute pledge of loyalty. It was also a beautiful girl's vow to offer her entire body and soul, her dignity and her future, without reservation.
Su Chen looked at the girl before him, whose cool beauty was filled with deep affection.
He could clearly sense the powerful presence within Zhu Zhuqing after her complete transformation, along with the burning devotion conveyed through her palms.
Through the mingling of pure yang bloodlines brought about by the Ancestral Dragon Hegemony Body Art, this bond forged through deliverance from death and martial soul transformation was ten thousand times stronger than any words in the world.
He turned his hand over and clasped her soft, slender hand. "I'll crush the Star Luo Imperial Family beneath my foot for you. All you need to do is follow me and ascend to the true summit."
Hearing the young man's supremely domineering words, Zhu Zhuqing's heart trembled violently, and a trail of tears filled with joy and release slipped from the corner of her eye.
Su Chen pulled her toward him. Before Zhu Zhuqing's startled cry had faded, she had fallen into his broad, warm embrace.
The pure yang energy lingering inside him quietly mingled with the girl's delicate fragrance, and an indescribably intimate atmosphere rose within the chamber. Zhu Zhuqing stiffened slightly, her frosty face suddenly flushing a captivating crimson. Her long lashes trembled violently, but she did not draw back at all.
Su Chen lowered his gaze to the exquisite face in his arms, beautiful in both displeasure and delight, and gently lifted her small, smooth chin with his long fingers. As though sensing what was coming, the girl closed her eyes, shy yet resolute, her trembling red lips vivid and tender.
Su Chen lowered his head and kissed her.
Unlike his domineering force during the treatment, the young man's presence was now hot and tender, carrying an irresistible strength as he claimed ground little by little.
A barely audible, soft protest escaped the girl's lips. Her tense body relaxed completely, and her arms instinctively wound around Su Chen's neck.
Clothes slipped away in the faint light. Above the brocade couch, dark-gold and pitch-black soul power rippled and mingled like waves, while dragon cries and feline calls faintly harmonized in the air, speaking of the utmost surrender and possession.
That night, stars shone brilliantly in the sky above Suotuo City.
Early the next morning, the rising sun spilled onto Suotuo City's neat streets. Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu had long since washed and dressed and were waiting outside. When the chamber's black basalt door opened again, Su Chen stepped out looking thoroughly refreshed.
Zhu Zhuqing, following close behind, made both girls' eyes light up!
Although Zhu Zhuqing still wore her practical, fitted black leather outfit, her formerly pale, haggard complexion had become rosy and luminous, as smooth as fine cream.
Even more striking was her bearing. Much of her former gloom and despondency had disappeared, replaced by a sharp, noble radiance like stars in the night. She exuded a breathtaking charm.
"Wow! Zhu Zhuqing, your aura is completely different!" Ning Rongrong's beautiful eyes shone. Her keen perception as an heir of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect let her recognize Zhu Zhuqing's complete transformation at a glance, deepening her awe and admiration for Su Chen's heaven-reaching abilities.
Xiao Wu came forward with a grin and took Zhu Zhuqing's hand. "You're so warm now, Zhu Zhuqing. This is wonderful!"
A rare, faint blush rose on Zhu Zhuqing's cool, lovely face.
His gaze swept across the three stunning girls before him, and Su Chen tapped his fingertips against the edge of his sleeve.
"Let's go. We'll head to the Soto Great Soul Arena and register our own team. From today onward, the name Dragon God will resound throughout the entire Douluo Continent."
Before you continue