Qian Daoliu did not even turn his head.
"Insolent."
Boom!
A terrifying pressure descended with a thunderous crash.
Before Zhu Zhuqing could reach Qian Daoliu, her body fell from midair.
The instant her feet touched down, the stone floor cracked beneath them.
She tried to steady herself.
But the pressure on her shoulders kept increasing.
Thud!
Zhu Zhuqing dropped to both knees.
Her long legs bent at her sides, and her fair skin struck the broken floor tiles, immediately leaving two red marks.
Her black skirt spread out around her, making her legs look even more snow-white.
Only by bracing her hands against the floor did she keep herself from collapsing completely.
The Hell Spirit Cat let out a mournful cry.
The Martial Soul phantom shattered immediately afterward.
Her two Soul Rings were also forcibly pressed back into her body.
Zhu Zhuqing raised her face and looked at Qian Daoliu, who had never once released his Martial Soul.
This power had already surpassed her understanding.
A Soul Elder could not do this.
A Soul Ancestor could not do this.
Even a Soul King or Soul Emperor could not force her to her knees through pressure alone.
Was he a Soul Saint?
A Soul Douluo?
Or a Titled Douluo?
Her heart sank lower and lower.
This time, Ning Rongrong had truly kicked an iron plate.
Zhu Zhuqing had already warned Ning Rongrong.
Ever since the quarrel over the hair accessory began, she had disapproved of Ning Rongrong's actions.
Later, when Ning Rongrong wanted to falsely accuse Qian Daoliu of rape, she had spoken up repeatedly to stop her.
But in the end, she had not forcibly taken Ning Rongrong away.
Had she known things would develop to this point, she should have stopped Ning Rongrong in the street.
Even falling out with each other would have been better than their current situation.
Zhu Zhuqing mustered all her Soul Power, trying to get back up.
But her knees had barely risen an inch from the floor when an even heavier pressure descended again.
Thud!
The cracks in the floor continued to spread.
She could only kneel back down.
Ning Rongrong was still dangling in Qian Daoliu's grip.
The redness of her face had already begun turning bluish-purple.
Her eyes kept rolling upward.
Her kicking legs gradually lost their strength.
Her hands, clamped around Qian Daoliu's wrist, also slowly fell limp.
For the first time, she felt death so close at hand.
Her identity as the daughter of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's Sect Master was useless.
The names of Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo were equally useless.
Just as her consciousness was about to fade, the hand gripping her neck finally loosened.
Ning Rongrong's body dropped.
Qian Daoliu caught the sash at her waist and casually held her at his side.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Ning Rongrong coughed violently.
Air, absent for so long, flooded back into her lungs.
She gasped for breath, clutching her neck with both hands.
Five livid red-and-blue finger marks stood out starkly against her fair skin.
Qian Daoliu raised his hand and waved.
The Angel Sanctuary sealing off the private room dissipated.
The door opened on its own.
The bustle outside the restaurant reached the room once more.
Qian Renxue stood up.
She glanced at Ning Rongrong, who was hanging at Qian Daoliu's side, without a trace of sympathy on her face.
When Ning Rongrong had slandered her grandfather earlier, she had not considered the consequences.
Had he been an ordinary Soul Master, she might already have ruined his entire life today.
Qian Daoliu walked out of the private room.
Ning Rongrong wanted to struggle.
But she had only just recovered a little strength when the handprint on her neck began hurting again.
Her brush with death moments earlier left her no longer daring to cry out.
Qian Renxue followed behind Qian Daoliu.
Zhu Zhuqing knelt on the shattered floor.
The pressure suppressing her had already vanished.
She was perfectly capable of chasing after them.
But remembering the power Qian Daoliu had just displayed, Zhu Zhuqing ultimately did not rise to stop him.
Even if she caught up, what could she do?
She could not even withstand a single burst of his pressure.
Forcing herself to act would only put Ning Rongrong in greater danger.
Zhu Zhuqing could only watch the three of them leave the restaurant.
A short while later.
Qian Daoliu brought Ning Rongrong to another hotel in Heaven Dou City.
The hotel was quite large.
An expensive carpet covered the ground-floor lobby, with exquisite sculptures arranged on either side.
The shopkeeper's expression shifted slightly when he saw Qian Daoliu enter carrying someone.
But before he could ask any questions, a golden card landed before him.
Qian Daoliu looked at the shopkeeper.
"I am booking this entire hotel."
"Without my permission, no one is allowed inside."
The shopkeeper picked up the golden card and checked it.
After confirming the amount on it, he hurriedly nodded.
"Rest assured, honored guest."
"I will make the arrangements immediately."
The guests staying at the hotel soon received compensation.
In less than a quarter of an hour, the entire hotel fell quiet.
Qian Daoliu selected the most spacious suite.
The door closed.
Ning Rongrong was set down on the floor.
Unsteady on her feet, she nearly fell.
Qian Renxue stood by the door to prevent her from taking the opportunity to escape.
Ning Rongrong backed against the wall.
The palm print on her face remained clear.
Waves of pain also came from her neck.
She looked at the bed in the room, then at Qian Daoliu's impassive expression.
The fear in her heart grew heavier and heavier.
"Let me go."
"I can let what happened earlier slide."
"I won't tell my father or my two grandfathers, either."
"As long as you let me leave now, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect definitely won't retaliate against you."
Qian Daoliu did not respond.
He came up to Ning Rongrong and raised a hand to press down on her shoulder.
Ning Rongrong tried to dodge.
But how could she possibly break free of Qian Daoliu's control?
"What are you trying to do?"
Qian Daoliu swept a hand over her waist and took her Storage Soul Tool outright.
Only then did Ning Rongrong understand his purpose.
"That's mine!"
"Give it back!"
Qian Daoliu erased the Soul Power imprint on the Soul Tool.
The items inside were no longer restricted.
He casually waved his hand.
A large number of items landed on the table in the middle of the room.
Clatter!
Gold Soul Coins piled into a heap.
Exquisite jade bottles, wooden boxes, and all manner of secret treasures lay mixed among them.
As the daughter of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's Sect Master, Ning Rongrong naturally carried nothing ordinary.
Qian Daoliu opened the first jade bottle.
It contained six pills.
Faint patterns marked their surfaces, and they gave off a rich medicinal fragrance.
These pills could help Soul Masters recover their Soul Power.
By the standards of the outside world, their quality already qualified them as precious.
The second jade bottle contained Soul-Gathering Pills to aid Soul Masters in their cultivation.
There were twelve in all.
Besides the pills, seven or eight securely sealed wooden boxes also sat on the table.
Qian Daoliu opened them one by one.
Hundred-year-old purple jade ginseng.
Three-hundred-year-old azure ganoderma.
Snow jade flowers that could nourish the meridians.
There were also several spiritual herbs suited for Soul Masters with the light attribute.
Inside one golden wooden box lay a piece of pure white jade.
Pure energy flowed within the jade.
Wearing it over a long period could increase the speed at which a Soul Master absorbed the energy of heaven and earth.
Qian Daoliu continued his inspection.
One Defensive Soul Tool.
Two Soul Tool talismans capable of blocking a Soul King's attacks.
There was also cultivation medicine specially formulated within the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Any one of these items alone would have been enough to make ordinary Soul Masters fight over it.
Yet Ning Rongrong had put all of them in her Storage Soul Tool and never made any serious use of them.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect truly spared no resources on this little princess.
Qian Daoliu picked out everything among them that suited Qian Renxue.
"Xue'er."
"Take these things."
"The pills can aid your cultivation."
"The spiritual herbs can nourish your meridians."
"As for this Soul-Gathering Jade, although it won't help you much, carrying it with you will still offer some benefits."
Qian Renxue accepted the Soul Tool.
She inspected the items inside.
"Thank you, Grandpa."
Before you continue