It was the third day after Zhu Zhuqing had settled in with her third sister, Zhu Zhulin.
Zhu Zhuqing was exercising, once again performing the yoga poses from her previous life. None of the complicated movements posed the slightest difficulty for her supple body.
Prayer Pose, Raised Arms Pose, Standing Forward Bend, Reclining Butterfly Pose, Cobra Pose, Pigeon Pose, Child's Pose, Crescent Pose, Mountain Pose, Downward-Facing Dog Pose, and Fish Pose.
Then came the final move, Cat Pose.
Zhu Zhuqing had mastered this set of Twelve Basic Yoga Poses to perfection, especially the final Cat Pose.
While practicing Cat Pose, she discovered that when she yawned and exhaled like a cat, the Soul Power inside her seemed to circulate faster-considerably faster than when she deliberately cultivated it.
Zhu Zhulin returned from outside carrying a basket. She had gone to the clan's little market to buy some food that day. After all, with another mouth at home, there was no longer enough to eat.
She and her younger sister, Zhu Zhuqing, were both still growing. They needed to eat more if they wanted to grow taller and prettier.
As she pushed open the door, she called out, "Little sister, that fiancé of yours, Dai Mubai, seems to have gone to the Heaven Dou Empire. Everyone in the clan is spreading the news. Don't go out for a while. I'm afraid they'll mock you."
But the instant she entered, her eyes nearly popped out of her head. Her little sister was actually performing that sort of embarrassing movement on the bed, with a look of utter enjoyment on her face.
She couldn't take it. Those delicate S-shaped curves, raised in one place and dipped in another, instantly made Zhu Zhulin flush all the way to her ears.
"Zhu Zhuqing, get up right now! What are you doing?" Zhu Zhulin set down her basket, then covered her eyes with both hands.
Zhu Zhuqing was enjoying the sensation of her Soul Power rapidly increasing when that sharp feminine cry suddenly snapped her out of it.
With a nimble flip, Zhu Zhuqing leaped straight from the bed to the floor. She put on her shoes and ran happily over to her sister.
She went up to Zhu Zhulin and hugged her, then lifted the pink cover on the basket and peered inside.
There were plenty of good things inside, but the two golden treats served on little plates immediately made Zhu Zhuqing's eyes light up.
"Wow, Sis, you actually bought savory sauce pancakes today! Mmm, so good!"
Seeing her little sister eat without even washing her hands left Zhu Zhulin speechless. But watching her enjoy the food so much, she picked up the other piece and began eating too.
The clan gave the two of them very few resources. Each month, Zhu Zhulin could only collect a little more money than an ordinary clan member received.
Five Silver Soul Coins a month-that was the family allowance Zhu Zhulin could claim.
One Gold Soul Coin equaled ten Silver Soul Coins, or one hundred Copper Soul Coins.
Five Silver Soul Coins were only enough to cover Zhu Zhulin's own expenses. She was still young and growing, and cultivating her Martial Soul and everything else required money. Her little sister's arrival had immediately made things rather tight.
The two soon finished lunch.
Zhu Zhulin still wanted to ask what her little sister, who shared the same bitter plight, had in mind. "Zhu Zhuqing, what are your plans for the future? Dai Mubai seems to have fled all the way to the Heaven Dou Empire."
Zhu Zhuqing had not the slightest interest in that womanizing prince.
"Who cares about him? Sis, give me a Douluo Continent Geography Course this afternoon, okay? I want a general idea of where the main cities on the Douluo Continent are." Zhu Zhuqing clung to her sister, wheedling.
Hearing this, Zhu Zhulin immediately grew wary. She might only have been ten, but that didn't mean she was stupid. She had once studied Douluo Geography diligently herself, precisely so she could hide from the family and get far away.
She had once discussed running away with him, leaving the Star Luo Empire and its royal struggles behind. But in the end, he had died in those struggles before he could escape this wretched place with her.
"What are you planning? Don't tell me you want to go to the Heaven Dou Empire alone to find Dai Mubai. Do you know what the consequences would be? Once you leave the Zhu Family, there'll be no one to protect you.
"The dangers out there are beyond anything you can imagine. At your age, could you really reach the Heaven Dou Empire safely and find that faithless man who already abandoned you once?"
Zhu Zhulin gripped her little sister's shoulders with both hands. She didn't want her delicate little sister taking such a risk, because Dai Mubai was nothing but trash-trash who had abandoned her sister and fled alone.
It simply wasn't worth her little sister going after him. She would be better off staying obediently within the clan and living out her life.
Zhu Zhuqing smiled faintly. Her sister truly cared about her. But that also stirred her desire to become stronger and more capable, and she wrapped her arms around her sister.
Burying her little face in her sister's embrace, she spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear:
"Sis, you're overthinking it. I want to go break off our engagement. If I didn't have to defeat him and make him give it up himself to end this engagement, I wouldn't even bother going."
"But now I have reasons I have to go. I don't just want to end the engagement. I want to gain experience out in the world and become strong. In the end, I want to change our family, and change this damned Star Luo Empire!"
"That..." Being so young, Zhu Zhulin's mind simply froze. She had never imagined such a grand dream.
The family was a power she dared not defy.
The Star Luo Empire was an even more colossal behemoth.
Yet her little sister, only six years old, was actually being so outrageously defiant, speaking of changing the family and the rules of the Star Luo Empire.
Did she know how difficult that would be? Even their parents, mighty Soul Douluos, could only obediently follow the Clan Rules and obey the Star Luo Emperor!!!
But what if she failed? What if...
At that thought, Zhu Zhulin cried out, "No! Little sister, don't be foolish. I'll treat what you said today as nonsense, but you must never say it again. If anyone in the family hears you, they'll lock you up. Do you understand?"
Seeing such a strong reaction from her sister, Zhu Zhuqing realized she had been too hasty. After all, no one would believe such brazen declarations coming from a six-year-old girl.
Zhu Zhuqing hugged her sister and wheedled:
"Okay, I understand, Sis. Hehe, I was only joking! Hurry up and teach me Douluo Geography. I just want to learn where I can catch Soul Beasts. I need to absorb my first Soul Ring."
Yet at that very moment, Zhu Zhuqing quietly set herself a little goal.
The Clan Rules of her family and the Star Luo Empire actually frightened her ten-year-old sister this badly. It was easy to imagine what life must be like for children outside who were around her own age. They probably had to tread even more carefully, didn't they?
She swore that since she had come to this Douluo Continent, she would be the one to put an end to all its tragedies.
"Pay attention and look carefully. Our Hell Spirit Cat Family is here. Yes, just this tiny patch. Doesn't its shape look like a little cat baring its fangs and brandishing its claws?"
"This is the Star Luo Royal Academy, this is the Star Luo Imperial Palace, and this is the Soul Hunting Forest. This forest is an area where the Star Luo Empire keeps low-level Soul Beasts, specifically for outstanding nobles to obtain Soul Rings."
Zhu Zhulin suddenly pointed toward the center of the map. Her gaze was exceptionally grave, a faint cold gleam shining in her eyes. Her soft, pretty little face began to twist, and her voice turned somewhat icy.
"And here is where Spirit City stands!!!"
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