The next day, Dai Jinge and Zhu Zhuqing bade farewell to Liu Erlong and set out for Star Luo City.
After three years, they once again set foot in Star Luo City.
Their first stop was neither the imperial palace nor the Zhu Family estate, but the Star Luo Royal Academy.
The Star Luo Royal Academy stood within Star Luo City, and among this generation of students, Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun were its undisputed leading figures.
"Halt! Who are you two?!"
As soon as Dai Jinge and Zhu Zhuqing approached the academy gates, a guard barked at them.
Dai Jinge took out a Star Luo Royal Academy badge and tossed it to him. He had once been a student here.
"A junior badge? Are you a junior-class student?"
The guard scrutinized Dai Jinge repeatedly, then suddenly noticed that his appearance matched the members of the Star Luo Imperial Family perfectly. Unease stirred in his heart.
"May I ask... are you a member of the imperial family?"
Dai Jinge did not want to waste his breath on him. He said evenly, "I wonder if you've heard the name 'Dai Jinge.'"
The guard's heart jolted. He knelt and saluted. "Greetings, Your Highness, Fourth Prince!"
Dai Jinge smiled. "Aren't you afraid I'm an impostor?"
The guard gave a bitter smile. "Who would dare impersonate a prince? Unless he had a death wish!"
"You may rise."
With that, Dai Jinge stepped through the gates of the Star Luo Royal Academy alongside Zhu Zhuqing.
Zhu Zhuqing teased him with a smile. "Jinge, your name certainly opens doors at the Star Luo Royal Academy!"
"Making fun of me, are you?"
With wicked intent, Dai Jinge reached his mischievous claws toward Zhu Zhuqing and pinched her little cheeks.
"I was wrong, I was wrong! I know I was wrong..."
Zhu Zhuqing begged for mercy again and again.
Only then did Dai Jinge let her go. Recalling the past, he explained, "Before I left Star Luo City with you, I was a student here. Even you, who hardly ever left home, knew I had exceptional talent. Naturally, the people here knew something about me too."
Zhu Zhuqing asked, "Then where do we go to find your brother and my sister?"
Dai Jinge smiled. "We'll go to the education committee office, then wait for them to come to us."
Before the Star Luo Royal Academy's education committee building, a gentle breeze stirred, and sunlight spilled over the long flight of bluestone steps.
Dai Jinge stood with his hands behind his back, his posture tall and straight, his white clothes untouched by dust.
Beside him, Zhu Zhuqing stood quietly, her long black hair drifting in the breeze, her eyes as cold as wintry stars.
Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun stood at the foot of the steps.
From that position, they had to look up to see Dai Jinge and Zhu Zhuqing.
Dai Weisi narrowed his eyes as he studied Dai Jinge, a cold sneer curling his lips.
"Dai Jinge, the moment your marriage was arranged, you were so frightened you fled Star Luo City for three whole years. Now that you're back, you want to prove yourself?"
Zhu Zhuyun's gaze fell on her younger sister, Zhu Zhuqing, her eyes filled with contempt. "Zhuqing, you've grown a lot bolder in these three years away from the Star Luo Empire!"
Atop the steps.
Zhu Zhuqing's eyes chilled slightly, and her cool voice rang out evenly. "Zhu Zhuyun, I'm no longer the person I was three years ago. I've come back to take away what you want most."
Her voice was cold, yet every word rang like steel.
Dai Jinge slowly raised his eyes. An oppressive force as heavy as a mountain radiated from within him, bearing down on Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun.
He said calmly, "Dai Weisi, spare me the nonsense. Today, I'll step over you to claim my place."
Dai Weisi's and Zhu Zhuyun's hearts sank.
The pressure pouring from Dai Jinge actually left them feeling powerless.
They had only ever felt this way before the academy's high-ranking teachers.
Forcing down his discomfort, Dai Weisi said grimly, "Ridiculous! Dai Jinge, you may be talented, but you're nine years younger than me! Let's see just how much you've improved during these three years away!"
Dai Jinge gave a playful smile. "Then let me show you a thing or two. Zhuqing!"
"Right!"
Buzzz!
Two immense surges of soul power suddenly erupted from Dai Jinge and Zhu Zhuqing!
Soul power imbued with the bearing of a king surged and rose around Dai Jinge, fierce and domineering.
His soul power formed a white tiger that roared behind him.
The full strength of a level sixty-two Battle Soul Emperor poured forth without the slightest restraint!
His pure soul power, far surpassing that of an ordinary Soul Emperor, pressed down so heavily that even the air trembled!
At the same moment.
Zhu Zhuqing's soul power erupted instantly, its deep purple hue lending her an air of mystery.
Yellow, purple, purple, black-four soul rings appeared.
At the sight, the corners of Dai Weisi's and Zhu Zhuyun's eyes twitched violently, shock flooding their hearts.
The arrogance and contempt on their faces froze in an instant.
At that moment.
Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun, who had only recently become Soul Ancestors, could barely breathe beneath Dai Jinge's mountain-like soul power.
"How is this possible?!
"How could you have reached the Soul Ancestor realm in just three short years?!"
Zhu Zhuyun felt as though her entire understanding of the world was crumbling.
Zhu Zhuqing glanced at Dai Jinge and smiled proudly. "Because I was lucky enough to meet Jinge."
Dai Jinge took a step forward, his aura growing stronger still, pressing Zhu Zhuyun and Dai Weisi down until they could not lift their heads. Then he smiled calmly.
"Don't say Zhuqing and I never gave you a chance."
"We'll duel according to the rules now. In another two years, you won't even be qualified to duel us."
Dai Jinge was confident he could become a Soul Saint in another two years. Zhu Zhuqing's diligence went without saying, and her carefully honed foundation was incomparable to what it had once been. In two years, even if she had not become a Soul King, she would not be far from it.
Dai Weisi opened his mouth, his throat bobbing several times, but he could not get a single word out.
Zhu Zhuyun's face was filled with disbelief. The contempt in her eyes had completely turned to horror and incredulity, and even her body tensed slightly. Not a trace of her former arrogance remained.
In the past, she had always kept an eye on Zhu Zhuqing.
Three years ago.
Zhu Zhuqing had been only a One-Ring Soul Master.
Now, three years later, Zhu Zhuqing had already reached the same realm as her.
She had become a Soul Ancestor who might even be stronger than her!
That possibility was entirely due to Zhu Zhuqing's extraordinary soul ring configuration.
"Keep up."
"Zhuqing and I don't have much time to waste on you. Once we've defeated you, we have plenty of more important things to do."
Holding Zhu Zhuqing's slender, jade-like hand, Dai Jinge walked between Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun, his unhurried words drifting into their ears.
Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun clenched their fists in unison, their eyes filled with both helplessness and resentment.
Inside the academy's dedicated Soul Fighting Arena, four figures now stood on the broad bluestone platform.
News that Dai Jinge and Zhu Zhuqing had appeared at the academy and were going to duel Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun had already spread like wildfire.
Word had even reached the imperial palace and the Zhu Family.
Quite a few students had already gathered around the platform, all their gazes fixed upon it.
This duel would decide the future of the Star Luo Empire.
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